


Dragon Ball: Vegeta

by Savings_Dragonfruit6



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Family, Fights, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savings_Dragonfruit6/pseuds/Savings_Dragonfruit6
Summary: Flushed out of hiding by the return of Frieza, a band of saiyans learns of the dragon balls and comes to Earth seeking them. They successfully gather the dragon balls while Goku and Vegeta are away and wish for the return of their race. The return of the saiyans prompts Vegeta to return to his place of birth, forcing him to confront his past. Meanwhile, Bardock goes on a quest for reunification and redemption. These developments in the universe catch the eye of a certain deity, and causes him to mull over whether to allow this threat to his power... or obliterate it...
Kudos: 3





	Dragon Ball: Vegeta

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my work! This was my first fic!
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think of it! Tell me your opinion, good or bad!

Dragon Ball: Vegeta

Frieza's resurrection after the tournament of power meant he once more was free to terrorize the universe. Flushed out of their hiding place time and time again by Frieza's forces, a small forgotten warband of saiyans gave up hope of ever living out the rest of their lives peacefully with their spoils. While on a remote world, they hear of a rumor of seven golden orbs that can grant any three wishes the collector desires and that they are guarded by two unfathomably powerful saiyans. This piques the saiyans' interest and they decide to head to Earth to search for these "magic wish orbs". The saiyans cause trouble on Earth during their search, blowing up buildings, starting forest fires, and killing the humans trying to stop them. Vegeta, who comes back from training with Whis, hears about the happenings on Earth and decides to investigate. Goku stayed behind on the destroyer’s homeworld to train. When Vegeta finds the saiyans, following their trail of mayhem, the dragon has already been summoned and the saiyans are making the last wish for their race to be revived. He confronts them just as the dragon has dissipated and the dragon balls are being scattered.

He asks: "What the hell are you people doing on my planet?!"

The saiyans are flabbergasted. They recognized the iconic hairstyle of king Vegeta. They didn't expect the prince to be alive, much less be on this planet.

"We seek assistance to take down Frieza once and for all, and to restore the glory of our race and your father, your highness!" shouts one of the saiyans.

Vegeta is stunned. He never thought about reviving his race with the dragon balls and he certainly never thought that there were other saiyans out there.

"You come looking for help?! A saiyan seeking help?!...." says Vegeta.

A female saiyan steps forward. She had spiky, pitch black hair and stood a foot taller than the prince. Her purple scouter gleamed in the sunlight. She formed a fist and put it to her chest, saluting the prince.

"It was the only way, your highness! We don't stand a chance against Frieza and his army!"

Vegeta: "And you think the best way to ask for my help is to attack my world?!"

Female saiyan: "Forgive us, prince Vegeta! We had no idea this was your world!"

After berating the saiyans for wreaking havoc on Earth, he decides to accompany the warband to planet Vegeta. In Vegeta's mind, he is conflicted about the return of his race. He is a proud saiyan and he feels nostalgic about his home world. He wants to see his father again… But he also has grown attached to Earth and his family. Would his father accept that? He then remembers his past under the saiyans and Frieza. Could his own race be a threat to his family and home? Vegeta follows the saiyans to their ship. It looks similar to the ship Paragus crashed on Vampa. They board the ship and sit down in the seats. The craft lifts off. Within a minute, they leave the gravity well of Earth. Vegeta closes his eyes and meditates.

After a month in space, they arrive on planet Vegeta. Just as they are landing they can see the palace and the slums surrounding it. Below, thousands of saiyans are going about their daily lives, many walking the streets, buying things from the market, children sparring in the training fields. The structures besides the launch pad and palace, are little more than mud huts squeezed up together to form a ‘city’. A hulking saiyan is tackled by several guards for tossing a shopkeeper through a wall and out onto the street. Vegeta marvels at the conditions the commoners lived in. A group of attack pods race upwards and past his ship. Upon touchdown, attendants and technicians on the launch pad begin servicing the ship. Vegeta and the others step out of the craft. One by one, attendants and technicians begin staring at Vegeta. After a pause, they drop everything and bow. Vegeta, uncomfortable with the attention, demands to see the king. The female saiyan that came with him leads him to the palace. The palace towers over the pad and the rest of the city. Vegeta is once again overcome by nostalgia as he climbs the old stairs and walks down the hallways with paintings of his forefathers on the walls... all two of them. As he’s making his way down the last hallway to the throne room, several saiyan women approach him, shoving each out of the way. They were the daughters of saiyan elites and wore blue battle armor with a dark green, skin-tight shirt and leggings underneath. One of them offers a warm face towel. Another holds a jug of fine wine, offering it to the prince. Yet another shoves her way to the front of the group. She winks at the prince and tries to lead him by the hand into another room. Vegeta gets red in the face and jerks his hand back. The others giggle.

“Stand aside!”

He pushes his way through them. They follow him, holding on to his arms. He jerks his arms away, but they giggle and continue to grab them. Once he reaches the throne room, he bursts through the heavy wooden doors. The king is furious at first because someone has interrupted his war meeting with his top lieutenants. The royal guards, clad in white capes and red armor, put their hands on Vegeta to arrest him, but are repulsed back by a shock wave from Vegeta releasing his ki.

The king then recognizes Vegeta, letting out a hearty laugh and saying: "Prince Vegeta! My boy! You've grown strong!"

"You're just in time to help us wreak vengeance on Frieza!"

The women try to follow Vegeta into the throne room but king Vegeta puts his hand up.

“Ladies. Please leave us. You may wait in the prince’s chambers.”

They salute and bow, exiting the room.

Vegeta wanted to tell his father how he was Earth's protector now and how he has a family on Earth. But inside, he was too caught up in seeing his father again... and the notion of getting even with Frieza for taking him away…

Vegeta walked up to the king and embraced him. The group of saiyans who had brought Vegeta here, walked into the throne room. The king asks who they are. After they explain about the dragon balls and the events leading up to that, the king then says: 

"You four have saved our race, restored it's glory, and delivered my son back to me!"

"From now on, all of you are now elite-class warriors and each of you has earned their weight in silver!"

The saiyans thank the king, bow, and exit the throne room. The king, with his arm wrapped around Vegeta's shoulders, guides them both over to a long table in the center of the room. Around the table sit several saiyan generals in ornate battle armor with gilded patterns adorning it. The room is long with tall windows on both sides. Banners with the seal of planet Vegeta hang between the windows. The table is covered in star charts, stratagems, war game boards, and logistical reports. Vegeta sits down next to the king, but only after the king forces his top general, Radis to move from the spot. Radis was a very short saiyan, even shorter than Vegeta. He was bald but had a thick, black moustache and goatee. Begrudgingly, Radis sits farther down the table from the king. The meeting continues. The generals hash out the petty details of their strategy. Their voices boomed through the heavy doors and down the grand hallway.

One month earlier: At first, there was empty space. But suddenly, a planet begins to materialize out of a single point, like a whirlpool in reverse. It was planet Vegeta. On the surface, the palace, the launch pad, the slums, and the training fields all form. Then, bright lights appear in the shape of humanoids. After a moment, the shapes explode into twinkling dust and reveal the long dead saiyans. They all are shocked and in disbelief. Many feel themselves over with their hands to confirm if this was really happening.  
The king in his throne room, punches himself in the gut and laughs "Can it really be true? I'm alive!".  
In a deep crater outside of town, Bardock had been revived. He too is confused and disbelieving of it all. He remembers his crew getting wasted by Dodoria and his last words with Tora. He caresses the red bandanna around his head. He sees his fight with Frieza's men above planet Vegeta, the supernova coming toward the planet, and his final spirit cannon before he is violently ripped apart by Frieza's attack.  
Bardock questions if it ever even happened. He flies into town to discover that everyone else is back too. He's very puzzled at this point. Bardock lands and is greeted immediately by other saiyans on the street.

He asks them if they have any clue about what the hell just happened, to which they respond with:

"No idea."

"Maybe it was just a bad dream."

Bardock replies: "Bad dreams don't happen simultaneously with thousands of people."

He remembers his lover, Gine. He rushes home leaving everyone confused as to where he is going. When he gets to the house, he can hear Gine and her friend talking inside. Bardock bursts into the house. Gine drops a giant leg of meat. They stare at each other for about two seconds before they rush to each other, embracing. Their tails unfurled from around their waists.

Gine: “What happened to us?... Nevermind. I’m just glad to be back…”

Bardock smiles warmly and holds her tight. The moment doesn't last. Bardock hears the soft bubbling of an incubation tank in the other room. He walks into the other room to find the tank empty. He realizes what has happened. Gine isn't far behind him and once she sees the incubation tank, she becomes solemn. Bardock becomes enraged.

He thinks to himself.

"Somehow, we were brought back."

"Everything that I remember is real. My crew. Frieza. My own demise. Kakarot..."

He looks to Gine and says: "I'm going after him."

Gine is silent for a moment. 

"Let me go with you."

Bardock replies: "No, it's too dangerous."

"And we both know that you aren't the fighter type."

Gine fires back: "He's my son too, Bardock!"

“I don’t know what we might find, Gine. What if we run into trouble? You’re useless in a fight! And…!”

Bardock stopped as he saw that tears had begun streaming down Gine’s face.  
He sighs. 

"Alright, let's go."

Bardock wipes the tears from her face with his tail. Gine's expression brightens and she starts off towards the door. But before she can reach it, Bardock lands a chop to the back of her head, which leaves her crumpled on the ground and unconscious. He picks her up and places her on the bed in the bedroom. Bardock stands there for a moment, watching her sleep.

“I’m sorry. I can’t let you get hurt.” 

After putting a travel bag together with supplies for the journey, he heads out to the launch pad. The workers and guards are still a bit dazed from their revival, so when Bardock goes to steal a spacecraft, nobody lifts a finger. He gets into a small, round ship meant for omni purpose transit. After he takes off, Bardock begins thinking that if all saiyans on planet Vegeta were revived, perhaps his old crew would be alive too. He speeds off into the direction of planet Meat. When he arrives, he finds a small Frieza force garrison waiting for him. The Frieza force hadn't sold the planet yet and thus needed a presence there to prevent squatters from moving in. After a lengthy battle with the two-hundred or so troops, Bardock comes out on top. He had grown a lot in power due to the zenkai boost from being killed and brought back. Bardock revels in his victory over the garrison and his new powers, but his glee is short-lived. He realizes that if the Frieza force garrison on this planet was still alive, it could only mean two things: The garrison had killed his crew again, or they were never revived in the first place. Bardock was grief stricken, but more importantly: angry. He yells at the top of his lungs and releases his ki. The sky turned dark and lightning struck all around. A faint glow flickered around Bardock. His hair flashed from black to gold, gold to black. He opened his eyes and they were a soft teal-green. Suddenly, his ki exploded. The flash of light was so intense, it could be seen on a neighboring planet. After the light dimmed, Bardock stood as a full fledged super saiyan. Since it was his first time, Bardock had a tough time staying in the transformation. He reverts back to base form after about a minute of being a super saiyan. 

He was still angry about his comrades' demise, but he couldn't help thinking: "What the hell just happened?" 

He gets back on his ship and takes off for Earth.

Gine woke up from her involuntary nap. It was night out. She's dazed for a few minutes, but soon remembers what happened.

"BARDOCK!!!" she screams.

She dashes out of the house and flies as quick as she can to the launch pad. When she arrives, all of the workers at the launch pad are going about their duties, servicing craft for missions or loading and unloading cargo.

She asks frantically: "Has anyone seen a man named Bardock?!"

"He should have left in a spacecraft not too long ago!"

One of the workers, a tall man with hair similar to Raditz, responded: "Look lady, we service and launch dozens of sorties per hour. What makes you think we would remember a guy with a common name like Bardock?"

An elderly female worker with short, grey hair cackles and says: "I used to chase men all over town trying to get them to be my mate, but I never tried to interrogate launch crews about their whereabouts. Just what are you planning to do when you find out where he is? If he’s not interested, he’s not interested, missy."

Gine: “N-no, it’s not like that!”

The launch pad erupts with laughter. The workers return to their work while snickering and gossiping about their own mates and ex-mates. Gine’s face is red. She decides to forgo asking for help and sneaks onto a small cargo ship to hijack it. Unknown to Gine, there was a hulk of a saiyan inside that caught her getting into the cockpit. He picks her up by her collar and tosses her out of the ship. The commotion attracts the attention of guards on the pad. The guards grab her. Gine tries to struggle. The guards pin her down. One of the guards kicks her in the face, bloodying her nose and knocking the fight out of her. Gine is picked up and taken back to the slums where she is thrown into the mud. One of the guards spit on her as he leaves. She kneels in the mud, softly crying.

In the present: the war meeting in king Vegeta's throne room was wrapping up. Night fell as the meeting concluded. The generals bowed to the king and prince before taking their leave. Only Vegeta, his father, and the guards at the door, remained. The king sat on his throne while Vegeta stood in front.

“My son, why don’t you retire to your quarters for the night? You must be weary from your journey.”

Vegeta stood silent. He really wanted to tell his father about everything that happened. But he couldn’t find the words. Vegeta stared at his father.

“Son? Is there something wrong?”

“N-no, father. I’m just exhausted as you said.”

Vegeta turns and walks out of the throne room. The king smiles warmly at Vegeta as he leaves. After going down a flight of stairs, Vegeta walks down another long hallway. When he reaches the end, he turns right into a door and past two royal guards. The doors lead to a huge bedroom with a massive round bed surrounded by veils in the center. The room was lit by several braziers lining the walls. The floor was covered in marble tile. On the bed sleeping, were the saiyan women from earlier. There were six of them and they slept in a jumbled mess with their tails and legs resting on each other, their black hair sprawled out. They wore a dark green, skin-tight suit meant to be worn under battle armor. They snored in unison. Vegeta looked at them with slight disgust.

“I’m so used to Bulma, I forgot how saiyan women are. They’re just as bad, if not worse than Kakarot!”

“How the hell am I supposed to sleep with those wenches in the way?”

After watching for a few minutes, Vegeta gets an idea. He takes off his boots and tip-toes over to the bed. He lifts the veil and begins taking pillows from the bed. They’re large and rectangular so he has to lift them high to keep from waking the women. He takes three from the bed. When Vegeta tries to take a fourth one, one of the women’s tails wraps around Vegeta’s waist. He looks down. She was still asleep. 

Vegeta is relieved but thinks: “Now what?”

He slowly sets the fourth pillow down. Her tail had firmly grasped his waist. He began to tickle the end of her tail. The tail wiggled a little before constricting even harder. Vegeta became irritated. He didn’t know why he was bothering to be quiet about this. He could snap his fingers and the guards would escort them out. Suddenly, the woman sneezed and her tail unwrapped from around Vegeta to scratch her nose. Vegeta lets out a silent sigh and backs away from the bed. He fashions the pillows into a ‘mattress’ and lays down. He thought of the day’s events until he fell asleep.  
The next morning, he awoke to find himself on the bed and without his armor. Two of the women laid next to him, cuddled up to him with their heads resting on his chest. Vegeta sat up and shoved them off. He was glad Bulma wasn’t there. The women laughed as Vegeta leaped out of the bed, grabbing his clothes that were discarded on the floor. The other four women walked into the room carrying gargantuan platters of food and jugs of ale. They surrounded him, knelt, and held the food and drink up to him. He eyed the food. It was the leg of some beast with loaves of bread and an assortment of cheeses. His stomach growls and he decides that a bit of food wouldn’t hurt. Vegeta chows down on the bed while the women sit around him, massaging his shoulders and feet. When he finishes, some of the women take the platters away while another presents his boots to him. Vegeta noticed with surprise that they had been polished. One of the women offers a bowl of steaming water and rags to wash his face. He declines and begins walking out. The women bow and when he exits, they argue over which one among them the prince likes most. 

During the war meeting, it had been decided that prince Vegeta would lead an attack on an important trade world in Frieza's empire. Their objective was to destroy the Frieza forces and take control of the planet. Vegeta flies from the palace to the launch pad, accompanied by twenty others including the king's top general, Radis. Twenty-one attack pods had been prepared for their arrival. The sight of these pods bring back memories for Vegeta. He remembers how he traveled in pods just like them, wiping out entire civilizations throughout the galaxy. He gets a bad feeling in his stomach. The prince and the twenty saiyans board the pods and launch into outer space. 

The trade world is small, about half the size of Vegeta. It’s completely covered in cities with skyscrapers reaching far above the clouds, several layers of monorails lacing between them. A great fortress lies in one of many office districts. When they arrive at the target, they come crashing down into the fortress filled with thousands of Frieza force soldiers. The battle commences as soon as the saiyans exit their pods. They are fired upon by blasters and ki. The battle is chaotic and drawn out. For Vegeta, these Frieza force troops are less than dust mites in power. Vegeta holds back most of his power. But for the saiyans that came along, the battle proves to be much more dangerous. Six of the saiyans are killed in the fight. Two are grievously wounded. The fighting pours out into the streets surrounding the garrison headquarters. Citizens of various races are fleeing while the Frieza force troops and local police attempt to contain the saiyan advance. Vegeta is shocked at what happens next. The saiyan troops began shooting ki blasts at fleeing civilians while the Frieza force troops and police attempted to shield the civilians from the saiyans. Vegeta knew of the bloodlust of his race, but he had been told at the meeting that this mission only involved destroying the garrison on the world and taking control, not genocide of the inhabitants.

Vegeta snaps and says: "What the hell do you think you're doing? None of these people have done anything to us!"

Radis retorts: "I never expected the prince of all people to become so soft. We took over the planet and to the victors go the spoils!"

Vegeta says: "I'm not going to let you kill all of these innocent people! There's no honor or glory in any of this."

Radis lets out a sinister laugh and says: "First I get moved from my rightful place at the king's side, then I find out the person replacing me is a coward. You don't deserve to be the prince. You don't even deserve to breathe!"

Radis, aware that Vegeta eclipsed his own power but not by how much, fires a ki wave at Vegeta. After the dust settled, it became clear to the general just how powerful Vegeta was. He pointed two fingers at Radis and after a brief flash, he was no more. The other saiyans turn to look at Vegeta in both fear and awe. They demand to know why he did it but Vegeta does not answer them. He simply tells them to finish off the remaining Frieza force troops and that if he sees them attack another bystander that he will obliterate them. The saiyan second-in-command, a female with short, well-kept hair, stares in disbelief at the prince, but then says: “As you wish, your highness. Soldiers! Cease fire on the civilians, clean up the remaining Frieza forces!”

Bardock is just arriving on Earth. As he enters orbit, his scouter picks up several high power levels... 40,000.. 3,000.. 65,000.. 80,000.. 85,000.. 600,000?!..

"Has Frieza beaten me here?"

"Surely this world is too puny and worthless for Frieza to care about?"

After a few revolutions around Earth, Bardock decides to risk it. Maybe Kakarot needed his help. He lands on a mountain overlooking a large city and the surrounding forests. To his surprise, nothing seemed to have happened on the surface. No destroyed buildings. No smoke. No lights from explosions over the horizon. He relaxes a bit. Maybe it wasn't Frieza.

"But who could a power level of 600,000 belong to?"

He flies off towards the nearby city to look for Kakarot.

"How long has it even been since we died? Kakarot could be any age! Is he even still alive?"

Below, humans going about their daily lives look up and see a flying man pass over. Panic erupts.

"Is it more aliens?!"

"Is Cell back?!"

Upon those words, hysteria ensues as people attempt to hide from Bardock whom they think is Cell. Bardock scoffs at the humans' cowardice and flies off into the wilderness.

"There weren't any significant battle powers there anyway."

"Perhaps that 3,000 power level reading I got earlier will be more promising."

At Bulma’s house, Trunks and Goten are playing hide and seek. Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu, and 18 are on the balcony having a hangout.

Chi chi walks out onto the balcony and exclaims: "Once again my husband has abandoned our family to go train!"

"I can't even get him to look after Goten while I go out for supplies!"

To which Bulma replies: "I hear ya Chi chi, saiyans never have a shred of responsibility. My dear husband, the prince of all three saiyans, has been gone over a month without telling me anything. *Groan*."

Krillin to Piccolo: "I don't like it. Some jerks show up, trash up several cities, cause major disasters, Shenron gets summoned, and Vegeta disappears without a trace."

Piccolo: "Yes and from what we saw on the news, these attackers looked to be saiy..."

Krillin: "What?"

Piccolo: "Uhh?!? Do you guys feel that?!"

Krillin: "No, whaaaaaa... It feels like Goku and yet… it doesn’t. It's too weak to be him."

Piccolo: "This isn't good. It could be more saiyans."

"We have to protect the innocent people."

Piccolo, Tien, and Krillin speed off towards the unknown fighter. Goten and Trunks, having witnessed them fly off, attempt to fly off too, but with the help of 18, Chi chi and Bulma reign them in. 

Bardock is closing in on the power signal that interests him. He has flown over miles of ocean and as he nears the signal, he spots a small island with a lone house on it. Kame house in all its glory stands before him. He lands and shouts for Kakarot to come out. Kakarot doesn't come out. Bardock becomes frustrated and blows the front of the house off with a ki blast. When the smoke clears, two things are clear: Kakarot was not the one inside, and blowing up the house was one of the worst mistakes Bardock had ever made. Not just because he was in danger of reprisal, but because inside was master Roshi without any pants. Bardock dry heaves.  
After a moment of pure disgust and regret, without looking at Roshi he asks: 

"So... have you met anyone by the name of Kakarot?"

Roshi didn't say anything. He just picked his shades up out of the debris, put on the pants that were laying on the sofa, and powered up. Bardock looks back to see a buff old man blitzing him. It was on. Roshi drop kicks Bardock in the chest, sending him skipping across the water. Bardock recovers and powers up himself, charging back towards Roshi. Roshi side-steps Bardock and punts him into the sky. Roshi follows Bardock as he's sent flying and chops him on the back of the head, sending him careening down, belly flopping on the water. Bardock floats for a bit before sinking below the water. Roshi powers down and starts to descend. Suddenly, Bardock explodes from the water into the sky, coming right for Roshi. Roshi tried to power back up but he was too slow. Bardock headbutts Roshi in the stomach sending him flying upward. At hyper speed, he catches up to Roshi and piledrives him into the island. Roshi tries to stand up but Bardock gives him a swift kick to the back which partially buries the old master in the sand.  
He then picks Roshi up out of the sand by his neck and asks: 

"Where is my son? Where is Kakarot?"

Bardock tightens his grip on the old man's neck, crushing his windpipe.

"Last chance, scum."

An alert on his scouter interrupts the moment. Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo just arrived. To their horror it looked like Goku was about to kill Roshi.

Krillin: "Goku what are you doing? Roshi is our master, did you forget?"

Piccolo: "...That's not Goku. It's someone else..."

Krillin: "Are you sure? He looks exactly like Goku. His energy even feels like goku."

Piccolo: "Just look in his eyes. It's not him."

Krillin: "Well that's a relief... But who cares?! We have to save master Roshi!"

Bardock had seen their power levels using his scouter. 600,000 for the namekian, 40,000 for the short one and 65,000 for the tall one. He was shaken up by Piccolo, but he refused to show weakness to the enemy.

He shouted: "If you guys want to interfere in my business with the old man, be prepared to die!!"

The three Z-fighters charge Bardock. Bardock with all of his experience in the Frieza force invading worlds, was used to being triple teamed. He effortlessly dodges Krillin's and Tien's attacks but finds a much harder fight in Piccolo. Bardock knocks Krillin away and blasts Tien in the legs which wounds Tien badly. Piccolo takes advantage of the opening and ax-smashes Bardock into the water. Piccolo follows Bardock underwater and delivers a flurry of punches which knock the air from Bardock. Bardock attempts to escape the water by swimming up and away from Piccolo, but just as he breaks the surface, Krillin comes down like a spear and kicks the saiyan back into the water. Bardock doesn't resurface. Piccolo and Krillin land at Kame house to tend to master Roshi and Tien. Roshi is still knocked out, but Tien is awake and leaning against the house, both of his legs are broken. Piccolo and Krillin are just about to carry Roshi and Tien to Korin's tower when a bright light shines in the water. Piccolo and Krillin feel the power beneath the waves. 

Krillin is terrified but Piccolo smirks and says: "I never thought I would need to go all out against this guy. Stay here and protect these two. I'll handle this."

The light gets even brighter and Bardock explodes once more from the water. His power is enough to create violent waves 50 feet high. Piccolo takes off his weighted clothes and flies up to meet Bardock.

Piccolo says: "I never thought I would get a chance to fight a super saiyan again."

Bardock's lust for blood is halted for a moment. Bardock is confused by what Piccolo means. But this confusion doesn't last long as the blood lust returns. Bardock fires a volley of ki waves at Piccolo, but Piccolo just deflects them. Bardock, angered, charges at Piccolo throwing punches and kicks, Piccolo evading them all. Piccolo counters with a kick to the chin, causing Bardock to fly up high into the sky. Bardock became enraged. He charged a massive ki wave and fired it at kame house. Piccolo moves to intercept it. He deflects it with some difficulty. But just as he does, Bardock appears next to Piccolo and blasts him in the side of the head with a much smaller but hard hitting blast. Piccolo falls to Kame house.

Krillin shouts: "NO! PICCOLO!!!"

Piccolo hits the ground, creating a sizable crater under him which slowly fills with sea water. Bardock begins charging his signature, the final spirit cannon. He's going to blast them all away, kame house, Roshi, Piccolo, Tien, Krillin. But just before he launches the attack, he hears a hoarse voice shouting to him.

"Stop! I know where to find Kakarot!"

It was Roshi.

Bardock doesn't power down the attack but demands: "I want my son, you disgusting geezer! Where is he?!?"

Roshi: "He's not on this planet right now but I can take you to him."

Bardock mulled over whether to trust this disgusting old man or blow the lot of them to kingdom come. He powers down and descends to the island.

Once more he says: "Take me to my son and if you're lying I will make you all sorry."

Krillin took Tien and flew to Korin's tower. Piccolo got up after writhing out of the crater and stared angrily at Bardock.  
Bardock returned the gaze and said: 

"We can finish this little farce now if you want. I've never had namek and I'm itching to try it."

Piccolo: "Who the hell are you and what do you want with Goku?"

Bardock: "I don't know who Goku is, but Kakarot is my son. The rest is none of your business."

He turns to Roshi: "Hurry and take me to my son before I start to rethink this act of mercy!" 

They then fly off towards Bulma’s.

Back on planet Vegeta, Vegeta had returned from his mission. All but seven of the twenty-one pods that left, returned.  
When asked by a saiyan officer what happened to Radis and the six dead soldiers, Vegeta just responded with: "Missing in action."

Vegeta bursts into his father's throne room. The saiyan women from Vegeta’s chambers were sitting around the king, holding up trays of foodstuffs and a chalice filled with fine wine for the king. The king dismissed them. They bowed and walked out, giggling and grazing past the angry Vegeta.

"Why am I not surprised?!" Vegeta says.

The king, sitting in his throne decorated by jeweled skulls, says: "There’s no reason to be upset, my son. None of those girls have been in my bed chambers." 

Vegeta: "I couldn’t care less about the wenches, wise-ass. You know why I am angry."

King V: "No son, I'm afraid I do not."

Vegeta: "You sent us, not to destroy Frieza's control over a valuable trade planet, but to take the planet for yourself and sell it. I thought you would have learned by now after being dead for forty years that there's a steep price to pay for working in this business."

King V: "Son, I’m only doing what’s best for our people. Planet Vegeta will require wealth to reestablish its sphere of influence over the stars. Once Frieza is dealt with, we will have to step-”

Vegeta: "No. We saiyans have done more than our fair share of conquering. We’re hated throughout the universe, almost as much as Frieza. You spent your entire life under Frieza’s foot. Why would you want to continue his legacy?”

King V: “His legacy?! It will be our legacy, son. We can rule over the entire universe! The other races are weak. It is the saiyans’ destiny to rule over them!”

Vegeta: “You truly have learned nothing. Frieza had the saiyan race in his hands and crushed us to dust. Now that you’re back from forty years in the grave, your first move is to start inflicting the same injustice unto others that you were dealt all those years ago? How sad. But in any case, you won’t be hurting anyone else. If I ever hear of you or your armies wiping out any more civilizations, I will be back to put a stop to it at any cost.”

Vegeta then turns and begins walking out of the throne room.

"I know it was you that killed Radis."

Vegeta stops.

"That's right. I know it was you that killed my top general. No one on that pitiful planet could muster up the battle power to defeat him. Only you possess that kind of power, and your words here only pin the motive to the crime. So what if I don't give in to the demands of a prince to a king? Are you truly going to eliminate your dear father, the king to get what you want?"

Vegeta calmly replies: "I'm a saiyan. That should tell you all you need to know."

Vegeta continues walking. King Vegeta becomes furious. He throws an intense ball of ki at Vegeta. Vegeta catches it and crushes it in his hand. The royal guards tried jumping Vegeta from behind. Vegeta once more repels the guards into the walls of the throne room with his ki. Without a break, Vegeta sends another shockwave at king Vegeta who was about to throw another blast at the prince, knocking him against his throne and sending him tumbling down the steps. Vegeta stares at his father. King Vegeta was barely able to sit up. They looked at each other for a while, the father and son being almost mirror images of one another. Vegeta walks out of the throne room. The saiyan women had waited outside. When he came out of the room, they immediately latched on to him and tried to lead him to the prince’s chambers. He used his ki to repel them with force into the walls. Vegeta walks out of the palace and flies off.

Bardock, Roshi, and Piccolo arrive at Bulma’s house. They land on the balcony. Bardock looks around at the place and isn't impressed.

"So how is this place supposed to help us go to Kakarot? I have a ship that we could have taken."

Bardock was about to threaten Roshi's life again when he spotted Goten.

Bardock says: "I thought you said Kakarot was off-world? Are you guys dense or something?"

He runs over to Goten and picks him up off the ground, squeezing him tight.

"GOKU!!! YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE MISTER!!!" says Chi chi as she dashes at hyper speed towards Bardock wielding a broom.

Bardock turns and looks at her like a deer in headlights. But before Chi chi can smash the broom over Bardock's head, Piccolo stops her.

"Let! Go! Of! Me!" Says Chi chi as she struggles and pokes Piccolo with the broom.

Piccolo: "That's not Goku!"

Chi chi: "What do you mean he isn't Goku?! Yes he is!"

Piccolo: "It isn't! It's Goku's dad!"

Chi chi falls silent. Everyone begins to look concerned.

Suddenly Goten asks: "If you're my dad's dad, that means you're my grandpa right?"

Bardock looks at Goten.

"It's nice to meet you, grandpa."

Bardock's expression softens.

"So this isn't Kakarot, but his son?"

Everyone nods their heads. He feels tears welling up but he keeps his composure.

"So. How were we going to see Kakarot?"

Roshi asks Bulma to call Whis and offer a delicious meal to the angel so that he would come to Earth with Goku.

Two weeks earlier, Gine was cooking with her friend in her house. The sun started to set and her friend left. After she leaves, Gine sets out to enact her plan. She plans to stow away on a hyper freighter used for interstellar trade. They are large, long ships and are some of the fastest in the universe. It will take about two weeks to reach a trade station, which is only a day’s travel from Earth in a pod. From there, Gine plans to steal a smaller ship to travel to Earth. She had spent the past few days sneaking into the launch-master's office to find out which ship she needed to ride. All that was left to do was sneak aboard while no one was looking. She swipes a scouter off of a guard in a tavern when he sets it down on a table.

"This will come in handy."

She stakes out the launch pad on a nearby cliff for hours before the ship finally arrives. She watches the cargo being unloaded. As they finish unloading, they begin loading attack pods onto the hyper freighter.

"Perfect. There's my ticket to Earth from the trade post."

She turns on her scouter, which picks up every power signature on the ship and the launch pad. After all the pods are loaded the cargo doors begin to shut on the freighter.

"Now's my chance."

Gine darts over the launch pad, being mindful of the workers and guards, and leaps into the ever closing gap in the door. After entering, her scouter picks up two power signals coming from the front of the ship to the back. She quickly hides behind a rack of attack pods. Two of the ship's crew had come to check out the noise Gine had made when she landed. After a while, the two crewmen leave. Gine lets out a sigh of relief. Moments later, she’s slammed against the floor as the ship takes off and exits the gravity well of Vegeta within a span of seconds.

Present day Earth: Bardock had been patiently waiting for Kakarot to arrive. He sat far away from everyone else on the edge of the balcony. Not long after Bulma made the call to Whis, everyone began questioning him about his past, the saiyans, and planet Vegeta. Bardock was not used to this kind of conversation, especially around so many people. Eventually he got annoyed and moved to the more secluded spot.

"I guess the old saying 'like father like son' doesn't apply here, eh Chi chi?" said Bulma.

Chi chi replies: "Yeah he's not as open and friendly like Goku, but he's more serious. I kind of like it. Maybe I could get him to tend the farm!"

Piccolo: "Yeah he's serious. A serious pain in the side of my head."

Roshi: "At least you didn't have the front porch of your house blown off! Kids these days don't  
understand how hard good wood is to come across. Heh!"

Piccolo: "I don't even have a house."

Roshi: "Well now I don't have my vintage movie collection either!"

Chi chi and Bulma look at Roshi in disgust. Everyone else pretends nothing happened. Bardock with his back turned to everyone, displays a look of sheer horror and realization. Suddenly a stream of light stretching from the sky to the ground appears in the yard. Whis had arrived with Goku. Bardock jumps off of the balcony and into the yard. Goku and Bardock lock eyes. Just as Goku begins to take a step forward, Bardock charges and punches Goku in the gut, causing him to double over. Goku punches Bardock back, sending him into the sky. He flies after Bardock. Krillin and Tien try to help Goku, but are stopped by Piccolo who just shakes his head. Above, Goku and Bardock engage in a tempestuous battle. Bardock kicks Goku in the face sending him flying. Goku follows up with instant transmission and a knee to the back of the head. Bardock is impressed.

"Nice parlor trick you have there, ‘Goku’." says Bardock.

Goku: "If you think that's great, watch this."

Goku turns into a super saiyan with a blinding light. 

Shocked to see Goku become a super saiyan, Bardock just says: "Wow." 

His shock does not last though. Bardock too transforms into a super saiyan with the same blinding light. He and Goku smirk at each other. The battle commences again. Goku charges Bardock, landing a massive hook on his face. Bardock shakes it off and kicks Goku in the stomach. The battle goes on like that for a while, with Bardock and Goku 'taking turns' landing hits. Eventually, Bardock figures out that Goku isn't even trying.

"What, did you think I was never going to catch on? Don't make a fool out of me! I want your all!" Bardock says as he charges Goku.

As Bardock approaches he is blinded by yet another blinding light from Goku. This time, however, the light was blue. Bardock stopped and turned on his scouter. Nothing.

"How can his power level be nothing? He'd have to be dead!" Bardock thought.

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull Kakarot? A fighting power of zero? No way!" he says.

Bardock is then struck by something he neither saw or heard. He doubles over from the pain.

"How is this possible?"

Bardock tries to attack Goku, but he can't even touch him. Goku dodges every strike.

After missing several times, Bardock yells out in frustration: "How can you have a power level of zero but make my every move look like I was standing still?!"

Goku stares at him for a moment and smiles. Bardock is struck by another undetectable attack and is sent flying into a big decorative fountain in the backyard. 

Bardock wakes up on the lawn. It's dark out. Everyone had started eating the feast that Bulma had promised Whis. As Bardock got up, he heard laughing and conversation on the balcony above. He stood there thinking about everything. He thought about Kakarot and the life his son had made on Earth. His thoughts moved on to his fallen crew, then back to Kakarot.

"Kakarot has a hell of a life here on earth. He's grown strong too. Should I even be trying to get him to come back with me?"

Bardock turns around and begins to fly away. Before he can leave he hears someone call after him.

"Yo. What's the rush? There's plenty of food for everyone!" Goku says.

Bardock stops and turns around.

"If you want to come join us, you're always welcome to."

Bardock's stomach growls. He hadn't eaten anything since the trip to Earth. Bardock accepts and joins Goku and his friends for a meal.

Vegeta, after satisfying his nostalgia with sightseeing, was about to leave for Earth. When the prince arrived at the launch pad, he immediately walked over to an attack pod. As he was about to board the pod, two guards attempted to stop him. Vegeta glared at them and they backed off. He boards the pod and punches in a course for home. As he lifts off into space, he thinks about everything that transpired: the saiyans wreaking havoc on earth looking for the dragon balls, his mission to the trade world, the confrontation with his father. He begins thinking that maybe he was right to question the merit of his race's return. An hour into space, Vegeta begins to get a bad feeling in his gut. Minutes later he can sense a huge power approaching planet Vegeta. There is no question.

"It's... Frieza."

Vegeta thinks very hard for a moment. He turns back around towards planet Vegeta.

Bardock had just finished the story of how he was revived and his trip to Earth. Everyone was intrigued and began asking about planet Vegeta.

"What do saiyan children do for fun? It sounds boring there." asks Krillin.

"Saiyan children spend their time fighting and training for the army. They don’t ‘play’ like other children from other worlds, instead they spar with their peers." replies Bardock.

Krillin: "Ok... what about adults? Don’t you guys have sports or something?"

Bardock: "Ehhh...we honestly don’t differ much from the children, except that we’ll sometimes stop in a pub after an outing. We also hold war games a lot. That's the closest thing to a sport on planet Vegeta."

Roshi: "What about any cute saiyan ladies? No place is boring if it has ladies! Heh Heh!"

Bardock stares disbelievingly at Roshi. Chi chi strikes Roshi with the broom she almost used on Bardock, breaking it in half over Roshi's bald head. Everyone else laughs. Except Goku. He can feel something terrible happening far out in space. Slowly his friends and Bardock begin to notice his sour expression.

"Kakarot, your wife is one hell of a woman! She might not be a saiyan, but she sure has the spirit!" says Bardock.

"Goku what's wrong?" says Piccolo.

"Vegeta might be in trouble!" says Goku.

Bardock: "Wait, the prince, the king or the planet?"

Goku looks at Bardock for a moment.

"Yes."

Bardock tries to say something but Goku cuts him off: "Grab my shoulder. We're going to planet Vegeta."

Bardock thinks Goku is joking but after Goku explains that instant transmission is more than a parlor trick, they teleport.

Gine is making her final approach to Earth. Her scouter had detected massive power levels rising and falling hours earlier. She began to worry. Had Frieza or his men attacked Bardock? Was he dead? She decided to go for it. Upon landing in an open field, she was set upon by humans that detected her pod entering the atmosphere. Though the humans had no chance of winning, Gine had no interest in fighting them. She just wanted to see her son. The humans soon lost sight of Gine after she dashed off into West City, which was only a few miles from her ship. Following her scouter to a cluster of high power levels, she dashed through the streets of West City. Cars swerved to avoid her as she ‘played’ leapfrog over them. Upon arriving at capsule corp she scaled the wall around the compound, and rushed for Bulma's house. Just as she was coming around to the backyard, her scouter read that two of the big power levels disappeared. She hears people talking and decides to hide for a bit. Because her power level wasn't that high, no one noticed her. But after a few minutes, Piccolo felt a faint energy on the roof. Thinking it's just Goten or Trunks, he casually flies up to check it out. But to his surprise a woman in saiyan armor is there. Piccolo shouts for Krillin and Tien who fly up without delay. Piccolo is about to attack when he notices how scared Gine looks.

He hesitates and asks: "Who are you and what do you want? We’ve had enough saiyans causing trouble here!"

Gine says: "A..are you guys with Frieza?"

Piccolo looks at her for a moment. She's trying to look unafraid but there's a faint quiver in her legs.

"No. We're not with Frieza. He's not even close to the most popular character around here." says Piccolo.

Gine relaxes a bit. Her tail falls from around her waist.

"Why are you here?" Piccolo asks again.

"I'm looking for my son Kakarot." says Gine.

"You're Goku's mother?!?" exclaims Tien, Krillin, and Piccolo.

Gine: "I'm Kakarot's mother, yes. Is Goku his nickname or something?"

No one speaks. The three Z-fighters are dumbfounded.

After an awkward silence, Gine says: "Well anyway... whatever you're eating down there smells great."

This breaks the tension. Piccolo, grinning at how similar Goku and his mother behave, tells Gine that she is welcome to join them. The four fly down to the balcony and sit down around a table. As Gine eats, she is told by the group how she just missed Bardock and Goku. With reservation, they tell her about the danger Goku and Bardock might be in.

"Oh I only care about Goku. Bardock can do whatever he likes." she says as her tail swishes annoyedly.

Less concerned about her spat with Bardock, everyone asks: "Why are you calling him Goku? Aren't you a saiyan?"

Gine: "Sure, I'm a saiyan and Kakarot is his birth name. But it seems like he's got a lot of friends and a family that know him by that name so it only feels right."

Giggling she says: "And I think it's kind of cute."

Roshi rubs her shoulders and says: "Speaking of cute! Heh heh."

Gine smacks Roshi across the face with her tail, sending him smashing through a glass sliding door.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry about the door!" says Gine.

"Don't worry about it, the old lech has had it coming all day." says Bulma.

Frieza is sitting on his throne on the bridge of the ship. He sips a glass of red wine as he marvels the sight of planet Vegeta coming into view.

"Three minutes until we arrive at the destination, my lord." says the ship's captain.

"Once again those monkeys press my every button, step on every nerve. To think they would revive their pitiful species along with that ugly rock they reside on. I think I will take another trip to Earth when I finish my business here." says Frieza as small bolts of lightning curl around his fingers.

The rest of the bridge staff including the captain quake with fear. Berryblue enters the bridge and hovers to Frieza's side.

"Your hovercraft is ready, my lord." she says.

Frieza: "Oh there's no need. This time I plan to take a more personal and intimate approach to eliminate this vermin. Take us to the surface."

Frieza's ship enters planet Vegeta's atmosphere with a great fiery trail. The ship is struck by a barrage of blaster fire and ki waves as it touches down on the surface. It lands on several houses, crushing them. The doors open and hundreds of Frieza's elite troops pour out of the ship. A great battle begins. Frieza's forces and the saiyans engage in savage fighting in the streets. Frieza himself exits the ship with a few bodyguards. Suddenly, they are attacked by a small team of elite saiyans who fire ki waves at Frieza, which does nothing to the tyrant himself. However, his bodyguards aren’t as lucky. Some of the waves miss and damage the inside of Frieza’s ship. Frieza is angered by their insolence. He takes two fingers and swipes in the direction of the saiyans, unleashing a terrible ki attack that cuts a swath through the entire city and up to the palace, vaporizing saiyans and Frieza force troops alike. Frieza with his remaining bodyguards fly up to the palace while fighting continues in the rubble below. Frieza observes three saiyan women trying to protect several saiyan children from his troops. He stops to laugh as they are cut down one by one, their screams delighted the emperor.

Vegeta was making his way back to planet Vegeta. He could feel Frieza's power. Frieza had improved immensely since their last battle on Earth. Frieza's power made Vegeta nervous. 

"Could I defeat him now?" 

“I told Kakarot it was a bad idea to let him go. He could only get stronger.”

He felt a massive surge of energy and a bright purple light shined on the planet's surface. He felt countless smaller energies fade at the same time. He knew what was happening. 

"Can't this piece of junk go faster?" 

After a few minutes, Vegeta's pod finally enters the atmosphere and touches down on planet Vegeta. As he leaves the pod, he can hear the fighting throughout the city. Fires raged all around. A squad of Frieza's troops opened fire on Vegeta as he made his way to the palace. Vegeta was unfazed by their blaster fire and shot a volley of ki blasts back at them, vaporizing them. When he got to the palace, much of it lay in ruins and fighting was occurring in the rubble. The central building, though on fire and had pieces shot off, was still standing. He felt Frieza inside. Vegeta entered the building through a broken wall. He dashed down the maze of hallways to where the throne room entrance stood. What Vegeta saw as he entered the throne room left him speechless. Many of the king's generals who had been at the war meeting lay dead, strewn about with punctures through their chests. But this wasn't the worst of it. Frieza sat on the throne sneering at the prince. Frieza's feet rested on his father's broken and mangled body. 

"Greetings king Vegeta." said Frieza while laughing. 

Vegeta is enraged. He transforms, his hair becoming a dark blue, and charges at Frieza. Frieza, already in his gold form, charges back at the saiyan prince. The two meet in the center of the room and their collision shatters all of the windows. Vegeta unleashes a storm of blows at Frieza, screaming. Frieza blocks and evades, laughing maniacally. Frieza counter attacks, kicking the prince through a window and out of the palace. Frieza explodes from the palace in pursuit, causing the cliff that the palace stood on to collapse, taking the palace with it. He once again kicks Vegeta, sending him crashing through the launch pad and into the rocks below. Vegeta flies back at unfathomable speed towards Frieza and launches an intense volley of ki blasts. Vegeta isn't thinking anymore. His mind is flooded with a lust for Frieza’s blood. The attack lasts for several minutes, Vegeta screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. He finishes the attack with a bigger ki blast for good measure. It explodes with enough force to level the iconic rock pillars of planet Vegeta for miles around. Vegeta believes that he finished Frieza. He powers down from exhaustion and begins to descend. Suddenly, the smoke cloud from the attack is pushed away with a great gust of wind. As the cloud dissipates, Frieza appears with a brilliant, almost god-like, gilded light. 

"How?!?" Vegeta says. 

"Oh dear prince. Don't worry about details such as that. Prayers are a much more appropriate concern for you." says Frieza.

“As for your father, don’t fret. You two will have the rest of eternity together!” 

Frieza fires a death beam straight through Vegeta's chest. Vegeta falls, his aura extinguished.  
As this happens, Goku and Bardock appear where Vegeta had been hit. Goku catches Vegeta as he falls. 

"Excellent. Now I don't have to track you simians down." says Frieza. 

Goku looks at Vegeta who is unconscious but wincing in pain, then he angrily looks at Frieza. 

"What's wrong monkey? Did I say something?" says Frieza with cackling laughter. 

"Bardock. Go take care of Vegeta. Stop Frieza's men from killing anyone else." says Goku. 

Bardock: "No Kakarot. You'll need help against this bastard. I've fought Frieza before an..." 

Goku: "So have I. And he's grown stronger since then. You can't help here. You're needed down there. Go!" 

Bardock hesitates and looks at Frieza. 

"Hurry!" 

Bardock takes Vegeta and flies back towards the city. Frieza attempts to fire a beam at Bardock as he flies away but Goku deflects it. 

"Your fight is with me, Frieza!!" Goku says as his bright blue aura lights up the evening sky. 

Frieza charges at Goku as if to punch him. Goku blocks but Frieza maneuvers and kicks Goku in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ground. Frieza follows up, wrapping his tail around Goku's neck and dragging his face along the rocks, then flinging him into a distant mountain. Frieza launches a devastating ki wave at the mountain but Goku uses instant transmission and blind sides Frieza with a kick to the head, sending the emperor into a pile of rocks. Goku charges a Kamehameha wave. Frieza erupts from the rock pile and charges straight at Goku. Goku fires the Kamehameha at Frieza. But to his shock and dismay, Frieza doesn't attempt to dodge it but instead plows right through it. Frieza reaches Goku and once more wraps his tail around Goku's neck. He strangles Goku while punching him. Goku has his hands on Frieza's tail trying to pry it loose but it's too strong. 

Frieza leans in close to Goku and whispers: "Feeling helpless yet, monkey? As I told Vegeta, don't worry about your friends and loved one’s. After I send you to otherworld, the Earth as well as your friends will be joining you." 

Goku knees Frieza in the chin, causing his tail to loosen its grip and knocking Frieza back. Goku's blue aura fades and is replaced by a dim glow. His hair falls back to its normal state and his eyes turn grey. Frieza recognized this form from the tournament of power, but was unfazed. Frieza throws a hard punch at Goku. Goku evades and uppercuts Frieza in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Frieza angered, tries to ax-smash Goku but Goku appears behind Frieza and kicks him in the back of the head, sending him flying far away. Frieza tumbles as he lands, and continues to tumble for a good distance until coming to a stop by hitting a rock pillar. Goku roars and follows after Frieza. Frieza pries himself from the rock face and screams in anger. Goku closes the distance to Frieza. Frieza fires a ki wave at Goku but he just evades and knees Frieza in the back of the head, sending him flying again. Goku flies after Frieza. Frieza recovers mid air and charges back at Goku. Goku and Frieza collide causing a massive shockwave. Both Frieza and Goku then move at hyper speeds, colliding over and over again, causing more shockwaves. At the final collision, Frieza and Goku stand grappling with each other, trying to overpower the other. Their struggle creates lighting that strikes the ground. Goku's eyes begin to blacken, his glow begins to fade. Frieza starts to overpower Goku. Goku tried to hang on but losing ultra instinct meant his strength just couldn't keep up. Frieza overpowers Goku and sends him crashing into the ground. 

"I'm satisfied now! You primates are defeated and lay broken before me. There's only one last matter to take care of!" says Frieza as he charges a massive supernova ball. 

The ball is twice as big as the one he used the first time to destroy planet Vegeta. Frieza started to throw the supernova when he was hit by a ki blast from behind. The supernova is sent upwards into the sky where it explodes with such force that it cracks the ground, releasing lava, and blowing the tops off of nearby mountains. Bardock was fighting Frieza force soldiers when the shockwave hit and almost got blown away by the blast. Frieza was charred from the mystery attacker's blast. He looked behind him to face his attacker. It was Vegeta. 

"Impossible. I ran your heart through!" said Frieza. 

"I guess your aim isn't as good as you think, Frieza." said Vegeta in his super saiyan blue form. 

Frieza had hit Vegeta's heart, but thanks to a senzu bean that Vegeta forgot he had, he was able to recover. 

"Kakarot let's go!" said Vegeta and Goku exploded from the crater up to Frieza. 

Vegeta followed suit and the two saiyans uppercut Frieza, sending him into the sky. The two blast off after him, delivering a storm of punches and kicks, each landing and causing Frieza to groan and grunt in pain. With each blow, Frieza's anger builds until Frieza explodes, creating a shockwave that launches the saiyans down to the ground. 

Frieza screams: "YOU DIRTY LITTLE SAIYANS!!!!!" 

Frieza begins charging a ki blast in his hand. He laughs like a mad man. He's going to eliminate the pests along with the den. 

"Kakarot! Quick!" said Vegeta. 

"I know!" 

Goku charged his Kamehameha wave. Vegeta charged his Galick gun. Frieza fires his blast at the saiyans. Just as the blast is about to reach them, they each fire their attacks simultaneously. Their attacks clash, creating a blinding white light. Vegeta and Goku push back Frieza's attack about halfway but they struggle to push anymore. Both sides are screaming. 

"We need more power!!" says Goku. 

"Then push harder!!" says Vegeta. 

Goku: “I’m maxed out!!”

Vegeta: “Use that kaio technique!!”

Goku: “I’m already at 20x!! I can’t go any higher or I might die!!

Vegeta: “We’re all going to die anyway!!”

Their momentum fizzles out and Frieza begins to push them back. 

"You've got to be kidding me! How has Frieza improved this much?!" says Goku. 

"I told you this would happen Kakarot!! Just shut up and push!!" says Vegeta. 

Just as they are about to be enveloped in Frieza's attack, Frieza laughs and says: "Finally! I'm going to be rid of you monkeys for good! THIS IS FOR ALL THE HUMILIATION YOU PUT ME THROUGH!!" 

Frieza is about to put the rest of his power into the attack when he hears someone yell behind him: 

"Friezaaaaaaaa!!!” 

Frieza turns to see Bardock as a super saiyan, charging his signature, the final spirit cannon. Frieza's eyes widen with fear. 

"This is for my crew Frieza!! Take it!!" 

Bardock unleashes the blast which hits Frieza in the back. Frieza's strength wavers and he loses control over the beam clash. Goku's, Vegeta's, and Bardock's attacks crush Frieza. Frieza screams in agony as he's ripped apart atom by atom. The blinding light fades and everything falls silent. The saiyans are battered and exhausted. Bardock descends to where Goku and Vegeta are standing. The saiyans stand there for a moment in silence. Goku's stomach growls. Goku, Bardock, and Vegeta begin chuckling, the chuckling turning into laughter. The saiyans make their way to the city where they are greeted by a crowd of a few hundred saiyans. Cheers erupt as Bardock and Goku are hoisted up by the crowd. Vegeta refused to be picked up. The celebration is short lived though. Vegeta calls for everyone's attention and announces the king's death. Everyone becomes solemn. 

"All hail king Vegeta the fourth!" shouts a saiyan man in the crowd. 

Everyone begins cheering again. The cheering dies down once more at Vegeta's beckon. 

"No. I'm abdicating from the throne. I have a new home on Earth that I've grown fond of. I wish to return to it without worry." 

The crowd becomes solemn once more. The women from the palace are among them. They hang their heads in failure. 

"But I can name a worthy successor." 

Vegeta points to Bardock. Bardock is shocked. The crowd whispers and murmurs in disbelief that a low-class could become their king.

"This man may be of low-class, but he is the best for the job. Despite being a low born, he has become a saiyan warrior of the highest caliber. No! Not just a saiyan warrior! A super saiyan!"

“I learned a long time ago on my ‘visit’ to Earth that being born in a higher class does not make you undefeatable. It does not make you better than anyone else. A saiyan is a saiyan. Only through hard work and pride in that work can you become a truly great warrior.”

“This man is the embodiment of my words.”

The crowd quiets down. 

Vegeta turns to Bardock and asks: “Do you accept?”

Bardock is speechless. After many moments, he finally gives an answer.

“Yes.”

The crowd is silent. There is tension in the air.  
Finally, Bardock’s friend and pilot, Leek shouts: “All hail king Bardock!”  
The crowd remains silent for a moment longer before breaking into cheering. The palace women walk up to Bardock and bow before latching on to his arms.

Once more, Vegeta beckons for silence and continues his speech: “And from now on I trust that everyone has learned their lesson about the planet trade. There’s no honor or glory in it, just destruction and despair. Greed will only lead to loss. The saiyan race must heed history and the many mistakes we have made along the way. Don’t become what we’ve fought to be free of!”

As Vegeta’s speech carries on, a thought crosses Bardock’s mind: "Where’s Gine?"  
Bardock rips his arms free from the women and flies off towards his house. It had been in the middle of Frieza's attack. When Bardock reached home, it was nothing but smoking rubble. He frantically searches for Gine in the ruins. 

He was just about to give up when he heard a croak of a voice: "Bardock..." 

He runs to the source. It was Gine's friend. She was a short woman with wide features and had short hair that didn’t fall past her head. A big piece of wall laid on top of her. When he moved it off of her, he vomited. He was used to seeing horrible things from his days in the army, but this still disturbed him greatly. Bardock cradled her in his arms.

"Mayze..." said Bardock. 

"Bardock...d.."

"Yes?" 

"Don't worry anymore Bardock…*inhale*.. she..." 

Bardock: "She what? What?!" 

Mayze takes a deep breath. 

"She left weeks ago, Bardock. No one knows where sh...." 

Mayze’s eyes glaze over. She passed away in Bardock's arms. Bardock shut her eyes and laid her head down. Bardock stood up and looked around. The bodies of saiyans lay strewn about, in the streets and in the rubble. Most of them were unidentifiable, their bodies mutilated. Some looked hardly old enough to leave the incubation capsule.  
Bardock remembered a mission from his days in Frieza’s army. He had been tasked with his crew to exterminate a civilization that was populated by human-like beings. Their targets weren’t very strong and it was a slaughter.  
Bardock remembers how he and his crew delighted in it. 

Borgos: “Haha Hey Shugesh! Check this out!”

Borgos tore the head off of a fallen native and threw it with enough force to kill a woman trying to get away. Shugesh and Borgos laughed as the native army attacked with blasters, trying to protect their people. Tora and Fasha arrived and unleashed a massive ki wave, vaporizing all of the soldiers.

Shugesh: “Damn it you guys! How are we supposed to eat them when you don’t leave any trace?!” 

Bardock: “That’s enough Shugesh. We don’t have time to eat anyway. We still have 40% of the population to take care of and Frieza wants this planet by tomorrow! Fasha, Tora, Borgos, let’s go!”

Bardock remembered the ambiance of that day. He remembered the corpses, the rubble, the smells. The parallels were uncanny. He looks at the dead children around him.

“It could have been Kakarot.”

Bardock looks down at Mayze’s lifeless body, which was only a mangled torso and a head.

“It could have been Gine.”

Bardock remembers the face of another woman from that same mission. She had soft green eyes and long, reddish-brown hair that fell to her shoulders. Bardock towered over her. She had tears running down her face as she begged for her and her very young child to be spared. He saw his own hand raise up. His hand impaled the woman and the child whom she was carrying.  
Bardock fell to his knees. He held out his hands and looked at them. They slowly turned red as if covered in their blood. He tried to wipe it off on his clothes, but more blood would ooze from his palms and fingers. He tries again, same result. Frantically, he kept wiping his hands only for more blood to appear. Bardock, after many more attempts to cleanse his hands of their blood, stared at his hands in horror. The blood began to dry and flake. He closed his eyes and gnashed his teeth. Once he shut his eyes, he could see that woman and child once more. They had no faces this time. The same memory played out, over and over again. On the fourth cycle, Bardock saw Gine’s face on the woman’s body, and Kakarot’s on the child’s. His own hand raised into view. His hand impaled them both.

“Why?! Why am I seeing this?!” 

The cycle continued. Each time he killed them, the sensations became a little more real until it felt like it was really happening. And each time, they became a little more like Gine and Kakarot until they looked just like them. Eventually, it simply was them. Bardock was forced to kill them, over and over, for what seemed like forever. 

On the final cycle, Gine begged for mercy and asked: “Why?! Why are you doing this?!” 

His hand did not relent and he heard their screams once more.

“Is this hell?!”

Bardock began to weep. The tears fell off his face and onto his hands. Bardock looked down at his hands. The tears were washing away the blood. He realized at last that this was his punishment. Bardock slammed his fists on the ground, creating a small tremor. Bardock wept for almost an hour until rain started to fall. Bardock stood in the rain for several minutes. 

After paying his respects to Mayze and the other fallen, he flew off back into the direction of Vegeta and Goku. As he flew over the rubble, he heard the wails of a saiyan woman. She held a young saiyan boy in her arms. The boy was lifeless and bled from the mouth.  
Bardock sped up. He couldn’t stand to listen to her cries anymore.

When Bardock arrived at where the crowd was, the crowd was celebrating the defeat of Frieza. He was disgusted by this.

“Do they not realize what has happened? Frieza almost wiped out our entire race once again! Many of their comrades, mates, and children lie dead! Their home is in ruins!”

Vegeta walked up to Bardock. 

As if he knew what Bardock was thinking, he said: “They will need your guidance. Right now they are savages and brutes. But I can tell that you, just like me, have learned the true cost of savagery and greed. They can learn too. You will have to teach them. I leave it all to you.”

Bardock nods.  
As they walk up to the crowd, the crowd cheers for Bardock. Bardock puts on a smirk and acts like he isn’t bothered by their behavior. The saiyans had dragged a huge keg of ale out from the rubble of a bar. Everyone toasted to the defeat of Frieza and the coronation of king Bardock.  
More saiyans arrived with food. Everyone began to stuff their faces. It was a true saiyan feast. Goku had never eaten alien foods such as the one’s in front of him, but he dug in nonetheless. After the feasting, the saiyan children ‘battled’ each other; the strongest child pretended to be Frieza while all the other children tried to defeat him.  
Some of the adults watched while others begged Goku, Vegeta, and Bardock to teach them how to be super saiyans. Goku, while at first wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to teach them, finally relented.

“Ok guys. The easiest way to become a super saiyan is to have a pure heart. If you don’t, it’s gonna be way harder for you to achieve it.”

The saiyans looked at each other and laughed.

One of the saiyans says: “Yeah right! The super saiyan is the ultimate killing machine!”

“No! That’s not necessarily true. Sure, anger and rage can help you push past your limits to achieve this form. But being a super saiyan isn’t about that. It’s strength! Strength to protect your friends and families.”

The saiyans are doubtful of Goku’s words.  
Goku sighs and transforms into a super saiyan.

“Look at me guys. I didn’t transform out of hate or rage. I can do it at will and I have full control over my actions. I’m not a killing machine.”

Goku powers down and the saiyans begin trying to transform like Goku. None of them are able to do it, but some are able to conjure a hint of golden aura. Goku smiles.

Vegeta says to Goku: “Are you sure it was a good idea to show them how to become a super saiyan, Kakarot? What if we have to deal with an army of super saiyans later on?”

“Oh I don’t think that will be a problem. I have a feeling that from here on out, they will focus on self-betterment rather than destruction. Nice speech by the way Vegeta.”

“Shut your mouth you idiot. And your naivety is as potent as ever.”

Goku laughs. Vegeta stands there with an annoyed expression.  
Bardock walks up to them.

“You know Kakarot, I think we should go to Earth together one last time.”

“Are you sure Bar…”

“What?”

“Are you sure, Dad? You’re the king now. Won’t your people need you?”

Bardock embraces his son.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own for a bit. There’s someone on Earth that you need to meet.”

“Really? Who might that be?”

“Just trust me son, you’ll be glad you met her.”

Vegeta raises an eyebrow upon hearing this person is a female. Goku still looks confused. Vegeta stares at Goku, marveling at how much of an idiot he is.

“Well alright. Let’s go then. Grab onto me.”

Both Vegeta and Bardock grab one of Goku’s shoulders and they teleport away, leaving the other saiyans bewildered.

Piccolo, Bulma, Tien, Krillin, Roshi, Chi chi, 18, and Gine were still at Bulma's. 

"So who do you think it was causing trouble?" asks Krillin.

"No idea, but Goku seemed really worried about Vegeta. It's nothing minor, that's for sure." says Piccolo. 

Gohan and Videl arrive through the house with Pan. 

"Hey guys! What's happening?" says Gohan. 

As they walk up, Gohan notices the woman with a tail sitting with everyone. 

"Hey who's this? She has a tail like a saiyan!" says Gohan. 

"Gohan, that's no way to address your grandmother!" says Chi chi. 

Gohan: "Grandmother? What are you talking about mom?" 

Gine stands up and walks over to Gohan and Videl.  
Gohan just looks at her confused and with caution. 

"Hi Gohan, I'm your dad's mom. It's really great to meet you." says Gine with a tender smile. 

Gohan says nothing and stares at Gine. He’s not sure what to think. Every saiyan he had ever met was ruthless and cunning. But something is different about her. There doesn’t seem to be any malice or hidden intent behind her smile. He can see the resemblance in her to his father.  
After a moment, he pulls her in and hugs her. 

"It's great to meet you too, grandma. Sorry for being rude. I just thought… you were dead.” says Gohan. 

Gohan introduces Videl and Pan to Gine. 

Gine upon seeing Pan: "Aww she's so cute. She reminds me a lot of my eldest son Raditz when he was this little."

Everyone, especially Piccolo and Gohan, becomes uncomfortable at the mention of Raditz. Gine feels the tension in the air but decides not to ask.  
Trunks and Goten dash past the balcony in the yard. 

"Goten! Come up here for a minute!" says Chi chi. 

"Aww mom, our game was just getting fun!" says Goten. 

Chi chi: "I don't want to hear it mister! Come up here!" 

"Yes mom..." says Goten as he flies up to the balcony. 

As soon as Goten lands, Gine sprints towards him and picks him up. Gine buries her face in his hair and starts softly sobbing. Goten isn't sure why this strange woman with a tail is hugging him and crying. 

"Gosh, ma'am. Are you alright?" says Goten. 

Gine looks at Goten and then hugs him tighter. 

"I'm sorry. You look just like your father all those years ago..." says Gine. 

"You know my dad?" says Goten.

Gine smiles at Goten and tickles his nose with her tail.  
A noise is heard below the balcony. Everyone looks over the railing. Bardock and Vegeta fly up to the balcony. Gine’s tail sticks straight out and bristles.

“BARDOCK!!!” she shouts as she charges at him. 

She punches Bardock in the jaw, knocking him down. 

"How dare you?!" she says as she kicks him, a tear running down her cheek.

“Ahhhh!! Gine wait! I brought someone with me!” says Bardock as he blocks her kicks. 

"Hey guys!" says Goku while midair. 

Goku lands and says: "Are you guys sparring up here? Because there's way better places to..." 

Gine sprints to Goku and hugs him, cutting him off mid sentence. 

"Oh...um... hi there." says Goku. 

Gine began crying with her face buried in Goku's chest. 

"Kakarot. That's the person I wanted you to meet. It’s your mother, Gine.” says Bardock. 

Goku's expression changes from confusion to shock. Goku lets Gine cry into his shirt for a while. 

Finally he says: "Mom… it’s gonna be alright. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere" 

Gine looks up at him and smiles. 

She wipes her eyes and says: "I'm sorry Kakarot... I'm just so glad to see you again."  
Goku and Gine embrace tightly for a few more moments before Gine steps back.

“You’ve grown so tall and strong. This is everything I hoped for.”

Bardock cuts in: “Yeah he’s grown strong! He helped me kill Frieza and kicked my ass pretty hard in a…”

Bardock stops and gulps as he sees Gine turn and stare angrily at him.

Gine turns back to Goku, laughs, and says: “Come sit down son. I want to hear everything about you and your life. Don’t spare me any of the details.”

The night carries on with everyone swapping stories of previous adventures.  
Bardock sits isolated, reliving his past. Piccolo looks at him and can tell something is up. He walks over to Bardock and puts his hand on Bardock’s shoulder. Bardock swats his hand away.

“I don’t need your pity, namek. Buzz off.”

“Of course. But I didn’t come here for that. Just to give you some friendly wisdom.” says Piccolo

“Stick your wisdom up your ass.”

“I used to be the enemy of your son. I spent most of my youth trying to destroy him and his friends. I wanted to take over the world, and I didn’t care who I killed to do it. Eventually, your other son Raditz came along, forcing Goku and I to work together to defeat him. Goku sacrificed himself to kill Raditz, leaving his only son with me, his worst enemy. At first, I was gleeful that my arch nemesis had died, and that he left his brat as a perfect pawn to mold into whatever I wished. But after a time, I began to question my own motives and goals. How could I hate someone that made such an honorable sacrifice? How could I raise his son to hate him? As I trained Gohan for the arrival of more saiyans, his softness began to rub off on me. I began to care for Gohan. I saw him as my own son. I even ended up sacrificing my life to protect him, just as his father protected him from his uncle. Meeting your sons changed my life forever. And I believe your sons each represent the two paths that a warrior can take. My wisdom to you is this: You may have traveled down one path almost to its end, but it’s never too late to stop and cross over to the other path, just as I once did.”

Bardock remains silent. Piccolo turns and walks away. Bardock pondered Piccolo’s words. He turns to look at everyone else.The Son family is taking a family picture with Gine, who is confused why they want her to stand with them in front of a strange device. Krillin, Roshi, Gohan, Videl, Piccolo, and Tien are chatting with each other. Bulma is yelling at Trunks to come inside for a bath. Vegeta is the only one who isn’t socializing, stuffing his face with food. Bardock turns back around. He wasn’t like Goku and his friends. He could never have that kind of happiness and freedom. He didn’t deserve it. To pretend so would be worse than any hell.

Gine looks at the small piece of paper that came out of the strange device. Her face lights up with delight as she sees her and her family’s image. 

“So that’s what this does?! That’s awesome!”

Her tail droops and her smile fades when she notices someone is missing in the picture. Gine looks over at Bardock, who was sitting on the railing far away from everyone. She rolls her eyes and sighs. Gine walks to Bardock and sits on the railing next to him. They exchange looks for a moment but turn away and say nothing. Their silence lasts several minutes, the party behind them still going on. Finally, Gine breaks the silence.

“Look, I’m sorry for pounding you back there. I took it too far.”

“No Gine, I can’t accept that apology. I’m the one in the wrong.”

They stared into each other’s eyes before blushing and turning away from each other. Gine began swishing her tail, which got tangled on Bardock’s. They both laughed. Bardock and Gine stared into each other’s eyes once more. The stare lasted for a while until Bardock’s memories flooded back and he averted his gaze. Gine became concerned.

“Bardock… I know we’re saiyans, but…”

“But what?”

“But couldn’t we, just this once, pretend we aren’t?”

Bardock looks at Gine. She’s staring at him intently. He turns away again and doesn’t respond. Gine’s affection turns to frustration.

“I don’t understand, Bardock. Why do we have to play these games with each other just because of the others?”

Bardock sits in silence for a few moments before answering.

“Maybe things could have been like that a long time ago, before we died. But it just can’t anymore, Gine.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean? We have our son back now. We can actually be a family again. I don’t understand why Bardock!”

Bardock says nothing and continues to stare into the night sky with a stern expression.

“You know what? Fine. Since you love your brutish and savage customs so much, you should return to that hell hole of a world. But when you go, just know this: I’m staying here with my son and his family.”

Gine hops off of the railing and begins walking back to the others. 

"Gine. Wait.”

“What?!” says Gine, annoyed.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“I’ve heard all I need to hear, Bardock.” says Gine as she continues walking.

“Gine.”

Gine turned around. She was about to yell at Bardock when she saw his face. His eyes had a look she had never seen in them before. Her anger turned to concern. She walked back to him and sat on the railing. Bardock told her about Frieza’s attack, the destruction, and her friend, Mayze. Gine bursted into tears.

“How could that bastard do that to us again?!”

Bardock held Gine as she cried into his shoulder. After she calmed down a bit, he told her of his visions and how they haunt him. Gine fell silent.

“I’m tainted. Broken.”

Gine turned to look at Bardock. Bardock was looking up at the stars. Her eyes widened as she saw a lone tear stream down his cheek. This was the first time she had ever seen another saiyan cry, an adult saiyan anyway. 

“Bardock… you.”

Bardock wipes his face.

Gine with tears still on her face, smiles and says: “I guess you aren’t the stone-cold saiyan you thought you were.”

Bardock is silent. Gine leans on Bardock. Bardock leans his head on hers. They sit in silence for many minutes.

“Gine?”

“Yeah?”

“About us…”

Gine sat up straight and looked at Bardock.

“What about us?” she says, while staring daggers at Bardock.

“No, Gine. I don’t mean th..”

Gine cuts him off: “Good, because I’d kick your ass to planet Vegeta and back for telling me that after everything that’s happened!”

Bardock continues: “When Frieza came to planet Vegeta, he killed the king. By birthright, prince Vegeta should have been crowned king, but he renounced the throne. He named me as his successor, Gine.”

Gine’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

“What do you mean he named you as his successor?”

“I was crowned ‘king Bardock of planet Vegeta’.”

Gine is speechless.

After a moment, she says: “Well... alright. But what does that have to do with ‘us’?”

“When I return to planet Vegeta to rule over our people... ”

Bardock looks away. Gine stares at him.

He continues: “On planet Vegeta, there is no queen, only the palace’s harem of noble women. As king, I am the law of the land. I can change anything about our world as I see fit, including old customs. And if there’s one custom I want to change right now, it’s that one.”

Bardock turns back to Gine and says: “Gine. Will you come back with me to planet Vegeta and be my queen?”

Gine’s eyes water. Bardock waits patiently for her answer.

“Yes.” says Gine as she embraces Bardock.

Everyone behind them had been watching and listening to them for a while now. As Gine gave her answer, everyone cheered and clapped. Bardock and Gine were confused. Though Bardock had effectively proposed to Gine, saiyan culture had no notion of such a thing; they had no idea why everyone was celebrating their intimate moment.  
Bulma brought out bottles of champagne. Bardock and Gine marveled at the strange, bubbly beverage. Gine took a sip. It was sweet, and the fizzling felt good on her tongue. Bardock eyed the drink much more suspiciously. He took a sniff. When Bardock realized it was alcohol, he drank the whole glass… and another… and another… and another, until he got very red in the face and tried to fight Krillin. Goku and Gine had to hold him down.

“Let go of me Kakarot! That shiny egg over there was looking at me funny!”

Bulma suggests they take him to the guest bedroom. Goku and Gine lead him there. When they get to the bedroom door, Bardock hangs on to the doorframe.

“Kakarot..*hick*..you’re the best son a saiyan could ask for. I’m proud of you son.”

Gine and Goku force him into the bedroom, where he falls onto the bed and instantly passes out. He begins to snore. Gine and Goku look at each other and smile warmly. Goku looks back at his father.

“Good night dad. Good night mom.”

Gine: “Good night son.”

Gine kisses Goku’s forehead and Goku walks out, shutting the door behind him.

Vegeta was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. As he gargles and spits, he notices Bulma standing behind him in the mirror. He ignores her and begins washing his face.

“Even if you don’t want to talk about what happened, you could at least apologize for disappearing for a month.” said Bulma.

“Whatever.”

“We all heard Goku’s dad earlier. About planet Vegeta, Frieza, the king... your dad. I get not showing your feelings around Goku and the others, but not when it’s just us. Your dad was murdered. That’s a big deal.”

“Shut up! You don’t know anything about it!”

“Only because you won’t let me know anything!”

Vegeta punches the mirror, shattering it and putting a small hole in the wall behind. He breaks down and begins sobbing, sinking to the floor.

“Vegeta…” says Bulma, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Vegeta swats her hand away.

“Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Bulma helps Vegeta up and leads him over to the bed. They both get in and Vegeta snuggles up to Bulma, putting his head on her chest. Bulma strokes his hair until they fall asleep.

The next morning, Bardock and Gine had been sleeping crossways on the bed. Bardock awakes, sitting up. As he sits up, his head begins to pound. Bardock holds his face in his hands. The nightmares were unrelenting throughout the night. Any time he shut his eyes, he could see that woman and her child. He looks over at Gine, who was sprawled out on the bed, snoring. Her legs rested on Bardock’s.

“When is this going to end?!”

It was a redundant question. He already knew the answer. Bardock carefully moves Gine’s legs off of him and gets out of bed, leaving the house.  
Gine awoke. She was a bit hungover from the champagne. She wiped her eyes and looked over to see Bardock was missing. Gine leaped out of bed and ran out to the balcony, where everyone except the Son family had gathered again. She looks around but doesn’t see Bardock.

“Where is Bardock?”

Everyone was somber.

Bulma steps up: “He left an hour ago. We tried to ask him where he was going, but he ignored us and took off.”

“He looked really upset; we’re really sorry Gine, we don’t know.”

Goku arrives via instant transmission with Chi chi and Goten.

“Kakarot! It’s your father! He’s gone!”

Goku had a serious expression.

“I know, mom.”

Gine was surprised.

“How?”

“I didn’t tell you this, but I can see into people’s minds by touching them and using my spiritual energy.” said Goku, to the shock of Gine.

“When we were carrying dad last night, I could read his thoughts.”

Goku hesitates to tell Gine what he saw. Gine just stares at Goku. She was becoming very worried.

“I saw what dad did. I saw his past, everything. He’s tortured every second of the day by it. He remembers that woman and her child and sees us in their place. He doesn’t feel worthy of us. That’s why he told me that he’s proud. Because he knew it would be our last time to speak.”

Gine stares in disbelief at Goku. Finally, she breaks down into tears.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me Kakarot?!”

“I’m sorry mom.” says Goku as he tries to hug her.

Gine pushed Goku away. She put on her scouter and flew off towards her ship.  
When she arrived, humans had set up a perimeter to perform tests on the strange vessel, as well as wait for her return. As she gets closer, the humans spot her and open fire. Gine dodges the bullets and knocks away the scientists near her ship, brutally kicking and punching anyone in her way. She takes off into space.

Bardock was on his ship in deep space. He headed straight for the planet from his memories. It would take him many days to reach it.  
When he did arrive, he found that the planet was occupied by another civilization that had purchased the planet from Frieza. His craft touched down in a city, on the city’s spaceport. The people there were fish-like. They stood quite tall, at least one meter taller than Bardock, and they were scaly with large mouths that had no teeth. When Bardock came out of his ship, everyone around looked at him in fear. What was a saiyan doing on their world? Had Frieza sent him? The spaceport workers began servicing his craft as guards came up to interrogate Bardock. Bardock ignored them and kept walking. The guards parted for Bardock. None of them were brave enough to provoke the saiyan. He flew off towards the setting of his memories.  
After a very short flight, he arrived at a ruined city. He landed in the streets. Rubble and garbage covered the roads. He walked the streets for hours, remembering that day. Eventually, Bardock heard chanting. He flew up to find it. As he got closer to the chanting, he found the source. The fishfolk had turned surviving members of the original inhabitants into slaves. They were being forced to clean up the rubble. The fishfolk had fitted shock collars on the slaves, which they used to electrocute them if they worked slow. The slaves chanted songs to drown out the sound of screaming. Bardock’s memories were triggered again. After another agonizing cycle of watching himself kill that woman and child, Bardock yelled in rage. The slaves and their masters look up at him. He charges down at the slave drivers like a wild man. He ruthlessly takes their lives, crushing the skulls of some, and vaporizing the rest. When the last slave master fell, Bardock stood alone in the middle of their corpses. The slaves huddled up near a partially destroyed building. They knew what he was and they feared him. Bardock stepped closer to the slaves. The slaves quaked. 

Finally, the biggest and brawniest of the slaves, steps up and issues a warning, his matted blonde hair shone in the sun: “Stay back, demon. Guys! I’ll hold him off! Run!”

Bardock takes another step and gets on his hands and knees, bowing his head. This stuns the man and makes the others stop to look.

“I’m sorry...so so sorry. Please forgive us.”

The man stares hatefully at Bardock.

“We don’t want your apology. We want our planet back. We want our people back. We want our families back!” 

Bardock looks up at the man for a moment before hanging his head down again. He doesn’t have an answer. The man puts his foot onto Bardock’s head and presses his face into the mud.

“Get out of here! Get away from us and never return!”

Bardock doesn’t bother to wipe off his face. He doesn’t budge an inch. The man kicks Bardock in the face, breaking his nose.

“Leave!!”

“No.” says Bardock, softly.

The man kicks Bardock in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to collapse. He doesn’t stop there. He begins to savagely beat Bardock. The man stomps on Bardock’s chest and stomach. He continues to stomp for several minutes before sitting on Bardock, punching him in the face over and over. This too carries on for several minutes. The man stood up, breathing heavily. Bardock was a bloody pulp. His eyes were almost swollen shut and he bled profusely from the nose and mouth. The man stood over Bardock, looking down at him with a cool rage. Bardock looked into his eyes. What he saw mortified him.

“D-did you ever know your mother?” said Bardock.

“What does it matter to saiyan trash like you?”

“Did you?”

The man’s gaze and expression becomes ever angrier.

“I barely remember her. A saiyan killed her when I was very young, during the invasion of our planet. I was there with her. We were hiding behind a wardrobe in my room. The saiyan broke down the door. My mother was too terrified to think straight and screamed, giving us away. The saiyan came up to us. I was scared and buried my head in my mother’s shirt. Suddenly, I felt an unbelievable amount of pain in my chest.”

The man grabs his chest.

“I heard my mother scream before I blacked out. The only reason I’m here is because that bastard missed my heart. My mother wasn’t so lucky.”

Bardock began to weep. The man was unfazed and continued to stare at Bardock with a hateful gaze.

“I think it’s fate that brought me here to you.” said Bardock.

“Fate is a tool for murderers to justify their wickedness.” responded the man.

Bardock: “It was me.”

The man pauses.

“What did you say?”

“It was me. I killed your mother.”

The man almost breaks down into tears but returns to rage. He begins breathing angrily, a wild look in his eyes. The man picks up a small metal pipe laying on the ground. He holds it over his head like a club, ready to bring it down on Bardock’s head. Bardock closes his eyes and accepts his death. He would be free at last.

Just as the man is about to swing, a woman’s calls out from behind him: “Almon stop!!!”

Almon stops and turns around. The woman was of short stature and possessed long, reddish-brown hair with green eyes. She wore tattered rags like the rest of the slaves. 

“He’s had enough! Let him go!”

Almon stares at Bardock for a moment. He spits on him and throws the pipe away. He begins walking back with the woman to the others.

“He shouldn’t get away with this. He’s a murderer and a fiend.”

“Almon. If you killed him, it wouldn’t make you feel any better. It would make you the same as him.”

They kept walking. The woman glanced back at Bardock, who was on his hands and knees, coughing blood. She pitied him. When they reached the other slaves, they all walked away.  
Bardock tried to stand up but collapsed on the ground. It had begun to rain. Bardock crawled to a half-destroyed building. When he got inside, he leaned against a broken staircase and passed out.  
His nightmares returned. Over and over, the cycle continued. But something was different. The child was no longer part of the nightmare. He murdered the woman many times.  
After countless repetitions of murder, the dream began to tear itself apart, a blinding light shone through the rips. Eventually, the background was completely gone and only the woman remained. Bardock covered his eyes with his hand, the light was brilliant. The light dimmed a little, and Bardock lowered his hand. The woman stood in front of him, her expression no longer fearful, instead smiling. They stood in a bright, golden void. A warm and pleasant feeling enveloped him.

“I saw you meet my son. He’s grown big and strong just like his father. Just like your son too.”

“Are… are you?” says Bardock, bewildered.

“My name is Walna.”

He falls to his knees and bows.

“Bardock… that’s enough. Please stand.” says Walna with pity.

Bardock looks up at Walna. Walna smiles warmly at him. He hangs his head back down.

“I’m trash. I shouldn’t even be alive. Your son was going to finish me.”

Walna walks to Bardock and kneels down.

“Bardock, look at me. You’re not the same person from that day. You’ve come a long way. I watched your final days before planet Vegeta was destroyed. I saw how you saved your son and how you tried to protect your wife. I’ve watched you since your resurrection. I watched how you rushed home to Gine. I saw how lovingly you embraced her and I saw your fury when you realized your son was gone. I saw how you wept for your fellow saiyans after Frieza killed them. I watched you talk with Gine and how gentle you are with her. You came back to my homeworld and saved my son from bondage. And when my son beat you, you didn’t raise your hand against him and even accepted death as penance. You’ve changed.”

Walna helps Bardock up. The many millions of Bardock’s victims stood behind Walna. The two embrace.

“I forgive you.”

When Walna steps back, Bardock looks at his hands. Blood began to ooze from his fingers and palms. But just as quickly as the blood appeared, it dried and flaked off of his hands, blowing away in the wind. Bardock looks up. The numerous victims behind Walna blow away into the wind, as if made of dust. He looks at Walna, a single tear is falling down her cheek. 

“Please save my son again.”

Bardock falls through the floor. As he does, Walna blows away into the wind.  
He falls into his body, waking him up. He leaps up and is surprised to be feeling this good after his beating. Bardock examines his body and finds that he’s been completely healed. The zenkai boost makes him feel invincible. His wonder is cut short when he hears explosions in the distance. He flies off towards them, amazed at how fast he’s become. When he arrives at the scene, he sees that the slaves had been caught by the fishfolk trying to run off into the wilderness.  
Most of the slaves are making a run for it into the woods. But Almon and two others fought the fishfolk, creating cover for those that ran. Blaster fire kills the two slaves fighting alongside Almon. Almon was much stronger than them, and was able to deflect some of the shots. But as more fishfolk trained their blasters on Almon, their fire became too much for him to handle, and he was struck several times in the sides and back. Almon collapsed. One of the fishfolk, their leader, walked up to Almon and drew his blaster, preparing to execute him.  
The officer is kicked in the head by Bardock, sending him smashing through a tree. The other fishfolk fire on Bardock, but he dodges and deflects the blasts while closing the distance. It’s a slaughter. Bardock cuts a soldier in half while blasting another. Most of the fishfolk run away, but some try to fight Bardock. He blasts them away, sending their charred corpses flying. He charges a massive ki wave in his left hand and unleashes it on the fleeing fishfolk. The attack vaporizes them and causes a massive explosion, creating a deep crater.  
Almon watched in awe. He was dumbstruck by Bardock’s power.

“Is this really the same saiyan I pounded an hour ago?!”

“He looks perfectly fine too, like nothing happened!”

Bardock turns to Almon.

“Don’t think this changes anything, saiyan!”

Bardock smiles.

“Of course not. I’m just performing a favor for a mutual friend of ours.”

Almon looks confused. Bardock picks him up. They fly off into the direction of the others. When they caught up, the others had settled in a clearing in the woods. Bardock landed and laid Almon down next to a fire that the slaves had made. The woman who had stopped Almon from killing Bardock, ran over to them. She knelt over Almon and held his head up. She cried, her tears falling on him.

Woman: “Almon… I thought you were gone.”

Almon: “Azelna, your tears are stinging my wounds.”

Azelna: “They had better, after putting me through that… damn it.”

Bardock can’t help but notice how similar Almon and Azelna are to he and Gine. He feels terrible for leaving her without saying goodbye.  
Night falls. The ex-slaves had set up a camp in the clearing with several huts made from sticks and thatch. Everyone sat around a huge bonfire, celebrating their freedom. They danced, chanted songs, and told stories. Bardock sat far off, alone and in the dark. He stared up at the night sky. Suddenly, Bardock was struck in the head by a tree nut. He covered his head with his hands.

“Ow!”

Bardock looks behind him in the direction it came from. Almon was standing behind him, leaning on a makeshift crutch.

“That was for intervening and not letting me have a warrior’s death.”

Bardock becomes annoyed.

“Do ‘thank-you’s’ exist on this planet, or is everyone just ungrateful?”

“Well. It’s a little hard to be grateful towards a man that helped drive your species to near extinction and killed your whole family, but yeah.”

Bardock is embarrassed. He turns back around. Almon limps beside him and sits down. Bardock looks at Almon in suspicion. Almon chuckles.

“I thought things weren’t changing between us?”

“They aren’t. I just had a question.”

“What?”

Almon is silent for a minute.

“Who is that mutual friend you mentioned?”

Bardock doesn’t answer.

“In the folklore of planet Nut, we have legends of great warriors being visited by spectres of the past after a great defeat. These spectres can be dead loved one’s, friends, or even old rivals. The spirit would pass off a bit of their knowledge or power to help the warrior be victorious in his next battle.”

“You came back completely healed after that beating I gave you. I can’t think of any way that would be possible under normal circumstances, even for a saiyan.”

Bardock is silent. Almon waits patiently for his answer.

“I met Walna.”

Almon was confused.

“That’s a nutan name, but I don’t know who that is.”

Bardock looked at Almon with a somber face.

“You don’t even remember her name?”

Almon stared at Bardock, still confused. But after a moment, he realizes who Bardock was talking about. He sheds a tear.

“Walna, huh? I think I’m going to name my first daughter that.”

Bardock and Almon sit in silence. After a half hour, Almon gets up and limps back to camp. Bardock thinks about his family: Gine, Kakarot, even Raditz, before drifting off to sleep under the night sky.

Gine was on her way to planet Nut. She had used her scouter to track Bardock. Her attack pod was a bit slower than his ship, so she landed many hours after him. She landed at the same spaceport as him. When she dismounted, the fishfolk surrounded her. News had spread of the saiyan who had landed hours earlier and began a slave rebellion. They demanded her surrender, which she refused. They slowly closed the circle on her. Gine tried to fight them off, but she was tackled from behind. The fishfolk piled on her, pinning her. The guards put a shock collar on her and electrocuted her until she stopped struggling and passed out.  
When she awoke, she was being dragged in chains through the streets of the fishfolk city. Her outfit except for her pants had been stripped off. Crowds of spectators threw garbage and rocks at her. She tried to break free, but the guards shocked her with the collar. One of the guards struck her in the ribs with the butt of his blaster, causing her to collapse. The guards kicked and stomped her.

“Get up, savage!”

The commander of the guards grabbed her tail and crushed it. Gine cried out in pain, tears began streaming down her face. The commander was apathetic. He put his foot on Gine’s head and pressed her face onto the street, smearing her blood and tears.

Commander: “If you won’t stand, we’ll give you a reason why you can’t. Break her legs!”

Four guards hold her down while two others begin clubbing her legs with batons. They beat her for almost a minute. Each blow caused her to cry out. When they finished, her legs were a mangled mess. Gine was sobbing. The commander took out his pistol, fired several blasts into the air, and then pressed the hot barrel onto her bare back. Gine screamed in pain.

“Alright, I think she’s earned the free transportation! Drag her to the zoo!”

After being dragged for several more blocks, she reaches a compound that looks very much like a zoo. When she enters through the gate, cages of various beasts line the path. She is dragged to the end of the pathway and to the right, where a large enclosure stood. Inside were native nutans.

Commander: “You boys think they’ll be happy to see a saiyan, the ones that put them here?”

Guard #1: “Aye, sir. It’d be wonderful entertainment to watch those savages tear this she-boon apart.”

Guard #2, while laughing: “They could use the meat too!”

Commander: “Well it’s decided then! Toss her in!”

The guards lift Gine over the fence and drop her. She falls many meters before hitting the stone below. They watch her for half an hour. Nothing happens and the guards begin to get bored.

Commander: “C’mon! That’s a saiyan we just dropped in there! You guys want revenge, right?!”

The nutans ignore him and turn away. The commander is irritated.

“That’s fine if you don’t want to put on a show for us! No food or water until she’s dead!”

They continue to ignore him.

“Alright then. Let’s go boys. We have better things to do than stare at these apes.”

The guards walk away. Gine crawls to one of the walls of the enclosure and sits against it. Her legs are completely battered and twisted. She held her tail in her hands. It was broken and bent, and very tender to the touch. She shut her eyes and rested. Hours later, night came. The air became cold. Gine began to shiver. Everything, her armor, her armbands, and even her boots were stripped from her. Only her pants remained. She tried warming herself with her ki, but she was too battered and exhausted.

“Am I going to die here?” she thought.

Her eyes began to close. Her breathing slowed. Soon, she went under.  
The next morning, she awoke to her surprise. Someone had covered her with a tarp in the night. Fashioning the tarp as a makeshift shirt, she began crawling up a slope where the nutans had been. When she got to the top, they were sitting around a small fire. They looked at her, but soon turned away, ignoring her.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

The nutans are silent.  
An old woman from the group walked up to Gine. She was very frail and looked to be at least eighty in a human’s perception. Her hair was snow white and draped down her back. She had amber eyes.

“Don’t thank us. You’ll die, but on your own terms. We refuse to do what those barbarians want.”

Gine struggled to look up at her.

“I’m looking for...”

The old woman cuts Gine off: “I know who you seek.”

Gine looks at the woman, her eyes widened.

“You do?”

“Yes. He was one of the great saiyan destroyers that came to this planet many decades ago. You came after him, seeking to scold him and bring him back with you to Earth. His name is Bardock.”

Gine was saddened by being reminded of Bardock’s past. Her sadness turned into surprise.

“H-how do you know all that? Don’t you have to be touching me to see my thoughts?”

The woman cackled and said: “My spiritual prowess far exceeds that of your son. Goku has done well to achieve his level without nutan traditions. Our race is known for our psychics and great spiritual gurus. I’m surprised you have not heard of us.”

The woman helps Gine over to a log, where the two sit together.

“My name is Esta by the way.” says the woman.

“That’s a really nice name.” says Gine, while wincing in pain.

Esta stared at Gine for a while.

“My, you are quite different from most saiyans… I can see your people. They are brash and arrogant, but you seem to be more reserved and gentle.”

Gine’s face turns red. Esta stares into her eyes for a time.

“My time will soon be at an end. I’ve lived over 90 years on this planet. Most nutans only live to see their 70’s… *cough*...”

Gine becomes concerned, but Esta waves her off.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mean right this minute. Anyway, the matriarch of a nutan household traditionally passes down her knowledge to a chosen female heir.

When Bardock came to our planet, he and his colleagues killed most of my family. Only three people of my household, myself included, survived. My niece and her brother survived. We lived in the rubble for a time before the Ardins came: the people that threw you in here. We were taken away in chains, and I never saw my niece or my nephew again. They were only 5 and 6.”

Gine sheds a tear, remembering how she had been separated from her family.

“I’m so sorry.”

“There’s no need to be. My race would have fallen with or without Bardock. We foresaw the end before it happened.”

Gine looks down at her legs.

“That doesn’t excuse us.”

Esta stared at Gine for a moment.

“Gine. I’ve been waiting for you for over forty years.”

Gine looked at Esta.

“I want to carry on the old traditions before I go. Will you learn from me, as my adoptive sister?”

Gine is stunned. The rest of the nutans are as well. They protest, but Esta motions for them to be silent.

“Am I really worthy of that honor?”

“I’ve seen into your heart, Gine. There is no one here more worthy.”

Gine forgets about her legs and tries to jump up from nervous excitement. She collapses on the stone floor of the enclosure. Esta bends down and helps her back onto the log.

“I guess that’s alright.” says Gine, in pain.

Esta smiles warmly at Gine.

“I can only teach you the basics, there’s not enough time to teach you everything. But with years of practice, you can be as good as me, even without my help.

Sit up straight. Relax your muscles. Try to ignore your injuries. Take calm, shallow breaths. Imagine your spirit reaching out and touching mine. It should feel like you’re floating in the air, if done right.”

Gine does as she says. Several minutes pass. It doesn’t feel like anything has happened. Gine becomes curious and opens her eyes. When she did, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. It appeared to be someone’s home. Two women and two children walked in. One of the women was Esta. Esta and the other woman were yelling at each other about a vision of doom that the community elders had. The other woman told the children to go to their rooms while she and Esta talked.

“Esta! I don’t want my children hearing such things!”

“It’s good that they hear it! They need to know what’s going to happen!”

“Nothing is going to happen! The elders have been wrong before!”

“On rare occasions! I can’t remember the last time they were!”

“This is the last I want to hear about this, Esta. I won’t let my children believe that their fate is decided.”

“Walna, you can’t protect them from this. Your husband even ran off to join the army!”

Walna becomes irate.

“Get out.”

Esta doesn’t move.

“Get out of my house!”

Esta walks out, slamming the door. Gine fazes through the front wall. Esta stood in front of the door.

She shouts: “I hope you and your brats are the first ones to go!!!”

Everything begins to fade and Gine feels herself fall through the ground.  
She falls into her own body, awakening. When she looked over at Esta, she was on her back, eyes closed. A tear was falling down Esta’s cheek, a smile on her face.

“Esta? Esta?!”

Esta lay motionless. The other nutans rushed over to see what was going on. Gine began to break down into tears. The nutans did too. Their wailing drew guards to the enclosure.

“They still haven’t ripped that saiyan to shreds yet? Get her out. I have a better idea.”

Suddenly, Gine and all of the nutans fell to the ground. The shock collars electrocuted them all. Guards flew into the enclosure, picking Gine up. She struggled and one of the guards beat her in the face with his baton. After several blows, she was bloody and unconscious.

As the sun rose over the horizon, Bardock awoke. He yawned and stretched his arms. It was the first time in days that he got good sleep. He walked back to the camp. All of the men except Almon were gone. Some of the women had gone as well but many stayed in camp. Bardock walked up to one of the shelters and stuck his head in. Azelna was fixing a splint to Almon’s leg.

Bardock says playfully: “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Azelna and Almon look at each other. They bursted out laughing.

“What did I say?”

Almon is wheezing and Azelna is cry-laughing.

“That’s my sister, you retard!”

Almon and Azelna continue laughing while Bardock gets red in the face.

After the laughing died down to a chuckle, Almon asks: “What do you want, saiyan?”

“Well first of all, asshat, my name is Bardock. And I wanted to tell you I’m leaving.”

“Sounds good to me.” said Almon, smirking.

Bardock stares and smiles back at Almon before taking off.  
He headed back to the spaceport in the ardin city. It took Bardock about an hour to reach the city. When he arrived, he landed on one of the many skyscrapers. He could see the spaceport from there, and even his ship. But something felt off. He had a horrible feeling in his chest. Bardock decides to check out the city. After a few minutes of flight, he spots a compound with many enclosures and cages within. He lands in the compound. When he goes to step, he hears a small splash. He looks down to see a small puddle of blood and a trail leading to the end of the compound. Bardock follows it to the nutan enclosure. Inside, he can see the nutans writhing in pain with their hands on their collar. He flew over the fence and landed next to them.

“What is this place?!” he asks a nutan man.

“It’s a zoo. The ardins keep us caged up like animals and charge a fare to look at us.”

Bardock points to the trail of blood leading out of the enclosure.

“It looks like they do a little more than just leave you in a cage.”

The man looks up at Bardock.

“Not one of ours. They tossed some saiyan girl in here yesterday. She was a mess. Legs broken, face bloody. The poor thing was naked from the waist up.”

Bardock picks the man up by his neck. His tone gets very serious.

“What was her name?! Where did they take her?!”

“Her name was Gi-gi-something.”

Bardock’s eyes widened.

“Gine…”

“Yeah! That was it!”

Bardock throws the man down and starts walking away.

“Wait! If she’s gone where I think she’s gone… it could be too late!”

Bardock stops and looks at the man.

“What are you talking about?!”

“There’s a prison...no, a dungeon on the other side of the city, near the spaceport. It’s run by a top ranking ardin commander. I heard stories from some of the guards. They practice all kinds of heinous torture and sadism in there. There’s no telling what they’re doing to her! Go!”

Bardock turns super saiyan and takes off. Guards at the zoo see him and fire their blasters. Bardock unleashes a huge ki wave, destroying half of the compound. The explosion vaporizes the guards and creates a hole in the nutan enclosure. Bardock flies away, causing a sonic boom.

Gine was chained up by her hands inside a large room. She was naked. Torches dimly lit the room. A large metal door at the end of the room opened. Three ardins walked in. Two of them stood on either side of the door, while the one walked up to Gine. The ardin pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her.

“Hello, saiyan. I’m commander Atun. I run this wonderfully efficient installation.”

Gine looked up at him in disgust.

“I’ve been briefed on what the guards at the zoo did to you after removing you from the enclosure.” 

Gine begins to break down in tears.

“Personally I’ve never found humanoids to be attractive… at least not enough to break our racial purity laws.” says Atun, as he grazes Gine’s breast with his scaly hands.

Gine struggles, trying desperately to get away but the chains hold her.

“Fear not. Not even I stoop low enough to use such methods as torture. I even ordered for those fellows to be ‘reprimanded’.”

As if on cue, Gine could hear three males screaming in the next room and then blaster fire.

“Now, let’s get down to business. You have information I want. Having this information sooner rather than later makes my job much easier. It also makes your death less painful. To clarify things: you give me the info now and I shoot you in the head with this blaster, pretty painless.”

Atun pats the sidearm on his belt.

“The alternative is: you hold on to that info, and you make your death take much longer and make it much harder for yourself.”

Atun points to a shelf covered in an assortment of knives, hammers, pliers, and branding irons.

“I want to know where your partner is. I want to know his battle power and I want to know what his endgame is. Where did he take the slaves?”

Gine slowly raises her head, giving Atun a look of hatred. She hangs her head.

“Unfortunate. It can’t be helped I suppose. You are a primate after all.”

Atun adjusts her chains so that she hangs with her feet barely able to touch the floor.

“The guards already broke your legs, so there’s not much left there. How about your arms? No. I think I’ll start with fingers and work my way up.”

Atun takes a pair of pliers from the shelf and places Gine’s fingers in the mouth. He starts with the ring finger. The bone cracks and Gine screams in agony. She almost passes out and Atun slaps her.

“Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to rest until death.”

Atun uses the pliers and rips the fingernail off of her ring finger. Gine is wailing, tears mixing with dirt and blood on her face. Atun wipes the tears off of her face and licks them off his hand, giving Gine a twisted look.

“SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!!” she screamed.

“Only you can help you right now.” said Atun, as he moved to the middle finger.

As he broke her middle finger, he heard a deep rumble on top of her screams. He looked to the guards at the door. They had heard it too. After a minute of silence except for Gine’s sobbing, Atun turns back to her.

Guard: “Must have been a small tremor, sir.”

Atun was about to pull the fingernail from her middle finger when an explosion shook the building. Atun dropped the pliers and the guards drew their weapons.

“Go find out what that was! I’ll wrap this up!” said Atun to the guards.

There was no need to do that. Another explosion blew the roof off. Bardock landed in the room. The guards tried to fire their blasters at him, but he got behind them and snapped their necks. He stepped towards Atun. Atun had his blaster trained on Bardock. He knew he was dead. But a thought entered his mind. One final act of spite. Atun turned the blaster on Gine and fired, piercing her left breast. Gine went limp.

“GINE!!!”

Atun began laughing. Bardock turned to him. Atun wore a smug grin, even as he was picked up by Bardock. Bardock placed his hands inside Atun’s mouth and ripped his jaw off. He tore the rest of Atun’s head from his shoulders. Then he ripped Atun’s body in half from neck to groin. When he finished, Bardock stood covered in blood. Gine coughing up blood broke his bloodlust. He went over to her, broke the chains, and picked her up. She was still alive but unconscious. Bardock took her and flew out of the hole in the roof. The spaceport was nearby, and so was the ship. When he landed, ardins attacked him. Bardock put up a ki barrier and set Gine down. After doing so, he gathers ki in his left hand. When he finishes, he holds his hand up towards the city. He unleashes an utterly gargantuan blast that destroys most of the city. The blast created a cone of obliteration. Everything within was vaporized. Everything else was blown away.  
Far away, Almon and Azelna were sitting outside their shelter. They saw a brilliant light shine over the horizon and a massive dust cloud form. A great wind soon came and blew them back several feet. The wind destroyed all of the huts and blew out the bonfire. They sat up and dusted themselves off. Almon laughed.  
The zoo was in the middle of the blast. Esta’s body was lit up by a brilliant light and then it was gone with everything else.

Bardock picked Gine back up and ran onto the ship with her. He set her down on a passenger seat and desperately fumbled with life support equipment. Bardock hooked her up to a ventilator and sprayed a medical foam meant to stop bleeding, in her chest wound. The ship was struck by blaster fire. Some of the ardins had survived. Bardock ran to the cockpit and punched a random course into the auto-pilot. The ship took off. After the ship exited the gravity well of the planet, Bardock got up from the pilot’s seat and rushed back to Gine. The color had drained from her face, her heart stopped. He laid her down and started pressing on her chest. After several minutes, color still hadn’t returned to her face and her heart wasn’t beating on its own. Bardock gave up. He broke down, with his face on Gine’s chest, crying into it.

Everything was dark. Gine called out for Bardock, Kakarot, Raditz, anyone. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled upward. As she ascended, a dim light appeared above. It got brighter. The higher she went, the brighter it became. Soon, the light enveloped her. A warm feeling filled her. She stopped ascending. Gine looked around. She was in a vibrant, silver void. A voice called out from behind her.

“Gine.”

Gine turned to see. Esta was standing there with Walna.

“W-where am I? Am I dead?”

“It’s beginning to look that way, child.”

Gine hung her head.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye…”

A tear fell down her cheek. Esta walks up to her and hugs her.

“I know, child. I know.”

The void suddenly begins to distort.

“What’s happening, Esta?”

“Someone is trying to get in!”

The distortions focus into a single point. Dust from all directions, flies towards the point, forming a man’s silhouette. The features on the man fill out. Gine’s eyes widen.

“Raditz!”

Raditz began walking towards Gine. Esta eyed Raditz cautiously.

“Mother.”

Raditz stops right in front of Gine. Gine is silent.

“Is this it? No hello or anything after all this time? Are you even glad to see me?”

Gine reached out and touched Raditz’s face. She could see his past. She retracted her hand and held it over her mouth. Gine began crying because of all the horrible things Raditz had done, including his encounter with Goku.

“I want to be glad, son. But I just can’t. Not when I can see all the things you’ve done.”

Raditz is puzzled by what she said.

“What do you mean see everything?”

Gine is mute, crying. Raditz takes her hands in his.

“Mom. I’m really sorry about Kakarot, I didn't mean…*inhale*... please forgive me.”

Gine looks up at her son. She stares for a bit. She sniffles and wipes away her tears, smiling. Mother and son embrace.

Esta clears her throat and says: “I don’t want to ruin your reunion, but how the hell did you even get here? Someone with your track record should have been cleansed and reincarnated already!”

Raditz gives her an angry look and replies: “I made a deal with king Yemma of Earth. In return for my repentance, I would be allowed to stick around and wait for my mother and father before reincarnating. Since planet Vegeta was destroyed, the check-in station was obliterated as well, meaning my deal with Yemma could never be fulfilled. I’ve been floating around the aether for what seems like an eternity now.”

Gine laughs.

“That’s just like you, Raditz. Tricking your way into getting out of hell. I always had to keep an eye on you since you could walk.”

Raditz’s face turns red.  
A huge drop of water falls past everyone. The void rippled.

“What is it now?” says Gine.

“My guess... is that I was wrong earlier.” says Esta with a warm smile.

“What do you mean?”

“It was too soon for you.”

Another water drop fell. Gine turns to Raditz.

“I guess this is goodbye… son.”

They embrace once more. A tear fell down his cheek. Gine wipes it off and smiles.

Walna: “Tell that husband of yours that I expect to hear about everything when he gets here.”

Gine looks confused before smiling and saying: “I will!”

Esta: “Remember to practice and meditate, Gine! You’ll do fine as queen! Don’t-”

Everything went mute. Gine could see Esta talking, but couldn’t hear anything. She could only hear a heartbeat which steadily got louder. Gine looked below and saw Bardock weeping over her body. She looked back at Esta, Walna, and Raditz. They smiled at her. She fell.

Bardock’s tears fell on Gine’s lifeless face.

“Gine!... Gine please! Please don’t leave me! Please! Please…”

He laid his head down on her chest, softly sobbing. Gine’s eyes opened. She looked down and saw Bardock’s head on her. Carefully and stealthily, she moves her broken tail and tickles his ear. Bardock swats at what he thinks is a bug, smashing her tail between his hand and head. Gine yelps in pain, startling Bardock, who leaps up and trips on the ventilator, falling on his back. Bardock sits up, holding his head. Gine blows on her throbbing tail. They both look at each other. Tears begin to well up in their eyes. Bardock scurries to her. Gine tries to sit up, but can’t because of the pain. Bardock holds her up and embraces her tightly.

“Gine, I’m so sorry. This was all my fault!”

He cries into her shoulder.

“Bardock… Bardock, you’re hurting me.”

Bardock lays her back down. He takes her hands in his and presses his face into them. Gine can see all of his thoughts and feelings. She begins to cry.

“Bardock, you’re such a fool. I would love you no matter what. Those visions didn’t matter to me.”

Bardock stares at her, wide eyed.

“I can’t live without you. I’ll follow you wherever you go.” says Gine, looking sternly at him.

He continues to stare in shock. To Gine’s surprise, he leans down and kisses her on the forehead. Bardock looks into her eyes.

“If that’s the case, let’s go back.”

Bardock sets a course for Earth. He walks back to the seats where Gine was laying and presses a button on the wall, causing the passenger seats to recline and change into a bed. Bardock lays next to her, draping his tail over her. Gine plays with his hair. They stare into each other’s eyes until Bardock falls asleep.

A bomb alarm went off inside Beerus’ bed chambers. The explosion failed to wake the god. Soon, another one went off. Beerus tiredly sits up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He floats down to the bottom of the room and into a bathroom. Beerus washes up and dresses himself before coming back out.

“Whis?!...Whis?!”

Beerus becomes irritated.

“Whis!!! Where are you?!!”

No answer.

“He must be fraternizing with that earth woman again…”

Beerus walks into the lounge room and then into the kitchen.

“He had better have restocked the ramen.”

He opens a cabinet to find a single cup of ramen. This simply won’t do.

“Seer!!!”

The oracle fish comes bouncing about the room, coming to a stop in front of Beerus.

“You called my lord?”

“Yes. Seer, when is that bastard Whis going to arrive back? I want to be ready when he does so I may unleash my unbridled wrath!”

The fish closes its eyes and focuses. After a moment he opens them again.

“In about 3 seconds, my lord.”

On cue, a whooshing noise is heard outside and then a bang. Beerus walks back through the living room and out of the house. Whis was walking up to the front entrance, carrying small takeout bags. Beerus flies over to him.

“Sneaking off to Earth behind my back again, I see. No doubt chowing down on delicious foodstuffs without me.”

Whis laughs and says: “Yes you caught me, my lord. Bulma called me and offered up quite the feast. I couldn’t resist.”

“Naturally. I hope for your sake that those bags have leftovers in them.”

“Right you are my lord. I thought you might like to try some.”

Beerus, sarcastically: “How thoughtful of you.”

Beerus and Whis sit down in the lounge room. Beerus digs into the food.

Beerus with his mouth full: “This dish is delectable!”

He swallows.

“What did you say it was called?”

“I believe the earthlings call it ‘Teriyaki chicken stir fry’.”

“That’s kind of a mouthful, but whatever. As long as it tastes good.”

Beerus finishes off the stir fry and sets the plate down on a table.

“Weren’t Vegeta and Goku supposed to be training here? Did they tag along with you?”

“Yes, they were. And actually, I took them back to Earth over a month ago.”  
Beerus raises an eyebrow and says: “That’s unusual for them to quit in the middle of their training. Is there something you’re not telling me, Whis?”

“Yes, my lord. Apparently there were some troublemakers that landed on Earth, a small band of saiyans I believe.”

“That doesn’t really explain why they left. Even those earthling friends of Goku’s could defeat the average saiyan.”

“Well Vegeta was the prince of all saiyans, my lord. I think meeting other saiyans, even as foes, holds a special sentiment for him.”

“I suppose…”

Beerus scratches his chin. But then his eyes widened.

“Was the prince of all saiyans? What do you mean? Doesn’t that arrogant fool still call himself the prince?”

“Ah, yes I almost forgot. The band of saiyans were after Earth’s dragon balls. They successfully completed the set and wished for planet Vegeta to be restored, along with all of the saiyans killed by Frieza.”

Beerus becomes angry.

“And you didn’t report this news to me why, Whis?”

“I didn’t think you would be concerned by it, my lord.”

“Of course I’m concerned!”

Beerus’ tone becomes dark.

“It could be bothersome if even half of the race learned from Goku or Vegeta how to become a super saiyan god. Perhaps I should obliterate them again.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem, my lord.” says Whis, looking into the head of his staff.

“Frieza came to planet Vegeta and decimated the population. Only a few hundred saiyans remain now out of thousands.”

“He didn’t just blow it up?”

“I’m afraid not, my lord.”

“And what became of Frieza during all this?”

“He was defeated by Goku, Vegeta, and another saiyan by the name of Bardock, Goku’s father.”

Beerus began picking his ears.

“Interesting. So I’m guessing that king Vegeta was slain and now the former prince Vegeta is now king?”

“Fascinatingly, no. Vegeta elected to abdicate his throne to Bardock, the same saiyan I mentioned.”

“Hmmm. That is fascinating. And is this Bardock as brash and brutish as the late king Vegeta? Perhaps I could use him much like I did with Frieza.”

“Well my lord, he did work under Frieza as a mercenary. His team was particularly efficient at wiping out the civilizations that Frieza targeted, and his power has increased exponentially since.”

“This ‘Bardock’ sounds like the perfect mortal for the job. Put planet Vegeta on the list. We have other places to visit in that area anyway.”

“As you wish my lord.”

Whis walks out. Beerus sits and thinks to himself.

“Still, even ten super saiyan gods could be an issue.”

“I could probably destroy the planet without Goku or Vegeta finding out…”

“... But I think I’ll wait to see how this ‘Bardock’ responds to my offer.”


End file.
